Love and Family
by Sora-Mizu Duo
Summary: Robin and Raven have been dating for several months. Now, they're about to learn the joys and perils of pregnancy and the other Titans are along for the ride. Rated M for first chapter to be safe. T rating for following chapters.
1. Saying Thank You

Well, hello. My name is Sora, the female component of the Sora-Mizu Duo. This is my first story I've ever posted. It's a Rob/Rae pairing. Compliments and constructive criticism are most welcome, they always will be. I suppose you could even flame me, so long as there is reason and it isn't a pairing flame, they are a pet peeve of mine.

I don't own Teen Titans. I never will, so I will settle for fan fiction. This summary for this story is really quite simple. Robin and Raven will learn about the joys and perils of pregnancy and parenting. The Titans are along for the lesson too. I hope you enjoy!

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Raven Roth sighed deeply as she collapsed into one of the couches in the living room. "Ugh, what a day," she muttered to herself. The other Titans followed suit. Cyborg crashed into a large armchair opposite of Raven. Starfire fell into the other large couch and Beastboy simply fell onto the coffee table. Finally, the team leader, Robin, trudged into the room and flopped down next to Raven. She graced him with a smile and, unseen by the others, began to run her fingers through his hair.

"Man alive!" Beastboy complained, "Gizmo, Jinx, Mammoth and Plasmus all in one day? The villains are trying a new tactic! I just know it."

"What is it that you mean Friend Beastboy?" Starfire asked.

"I mean that they are trying to exhaust us into loosing. I don't think I've ever been so tired! How long have we been up?" he replied.

"About 28 hours," Cyborg replied, "but we've been through worse. You know the whole end of the world thing? Anyway, a little sleep and we'll be fine."

"Gods I hope so," Robin muttered. "I really hate it when they go on these little mayhem binges. It's a real headache." Raven chuckled lightly and then winced. No one save for Robin caught it.

"You okay, Rae?" he asked, frowning. She nodded. Robin intensified his look.

"Wanna try that again?" he persisted. Raven gave a short glare but conceded.

"I'm fine for the most part, Jinx just got lucky. It's only a small cut," she assured them quietly. Everyone stared. "What?" she snapped. Beastboy was the first to speak.

"Well, it's just kinda rare that Jinx bests you like that. Did something happen?" he asked curiously. Raven's eye twitched. Beastboy had hit home. She didn't want to admit it, but her powers had faltered for one reason or another.

"No," she answered curtly, "I was just one step behind her, a one time occurrence, I assure you."

"If you say so, Friend Raven," Starfire said. Robin stood from the couch and pulled Raven up with him.

"Be that as it may," he said softly, "you could still use some care for the wound followed by some rest. Come on, I'll walk you to your room." He gently ushered Raven in front of him. Then he turned to the rest of the team. "I think that should go for all of us. Check and treat any wounds and then get some rest. We've earned it." The rest of the team nodded. The two birds took leave of the room.

As Starfire watched them go, a realization struck her. "Friend Cyborg, perhaps you have noticed. Robin and Raven spend much time in their own company. They are Tkilmors, correct?" Cyborg glanced over at Starfire thoughtfully.

"Depends on what Tkilmors are, Star."

"Yeah, what are those, food from your planet or something?" Beastboy asked. Starfire giggled.

"No, certainly not, Friend Beastboy. Friends Robin and Raven are not edible," she answered. A look of concentration settled across her face. "There is a word you use for Tkilmors. I hear it in your moving box all of the time."

"It's a TV, Star," Cyborg corrected. "What happens on the TV when you hear it?"

"Much singing of the kiss, Friend Cyborg."

"Kissing," Beastboy translated as he began to laugh.

"Kissing, thank you Friend Beastboy. I think perhaps the word I seek is lovers. Yes, Friends Robin and Raven are lovers!" Starfire exclaimed in delight. Beastboy simply toppled off the table now howling with laughter.

"You've lost your mind, Star!" he cried out. Starfire looked confused and upset.

"I am afraid I do not understand. My mind is safe within my skull. Why would I lose something so important?" she asked. Cyborg sighed.

"He doesn't mean it quite like that, Star. He means that he doesn't believe that something like that could happen and that you are silly for thinking such a thing. I, however, think you may be on to something. Remind me to talk to Robin about it tomorrow," he said. Beastboy stopped laughing and stared at the recently vacated couch.

"Oh man, Robin's screwed," he muttered, "No one, and I mean no one, touches baby sister."

Cyborg glared thoughtfully, Beastboy looked on apprehensively and Starfire looked like she didn't quite understand.

Upstairs in Raven's room Robin was gently nudging Raven to lie down. She gave him a slightly exasperated look. "Robin, you're babying me," she told him.

"Not true," he argued. "I'm just making sure you're okay. I saw you wince. Now just sit still and I'll get something to treat your chest." Raven leaned back into her pillows, sighed, and gave a small half smile. His hovering was nothing new.

It had been a year and a half since Trigon's defeat. Six months ago she celebrated her nineteenth birthday with no fears and even minimal happiness (well, old habits die hard). Four months ago Robin had pulled her aside for an interesting heart to heart. That particular talk would lead to their first of many dates. Then, two months ago around the start of summer, they became much more intimate.

Robin had hovered ever since Trigon, but it was easy to say that he had been twice as bad ever since they began dating. It annoyed Raven at times, but she put up with it. It was touching in a way.

Robin's soft voice broke her from her thoughts. "Here," he said as he showed her some ointment and some bandages, "can you show me where Jinx hit you?" Raven smirked.

"Are you sure this isn't some kind of cheap attempt to get me undressed?" she asked wryly. Robin raised an eyebrow.

"I know how to get you out of your leotard, I don't need this to do it," he replied. Raven sighed.

"Sometimes, Boy Wonder, you really are too serious," she told him. She removed her cloak and proceeded to unzip her leotard. It revealed a long horizontal cut just below her breasts. Blood had soaked into her bra so that too was removed. She pushed her clothing down to her waist. Robin flinched sympathetically.

"Ouch, that has to smart," he murmured as he began to apply the ointment.

"No, my healing abilities have taken care of most of the pain," Raven assured him. After that, they lapsed into silence. Robin took great care in applying the ointment along the whole cut. However, his hand occasionally brushed against her sensitive breasts and nipples. She moaned softly.

Robin had to concentrate very hard on his task. Raven's moans were doing an amazing job at arousing him. It was very hard to stay focused. As he began to wrap the bandages around her, his hands became more careless. Raven gasped and arched her back. "Robin!"

When he finally finished his ministrations, Raven pulled him forward. "Thank you, Boy Wonder," she whispered. And though they lacked 28 hours worth of sleep, Raven proceeded to show him just how much she appreciated him.

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Well, that's the end of my first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. Chapter two is almost done and can probably be expected in about a week. I hope you enjoyed it and will stick with me. Well, bye for now. 


	2. Better Than A Doctor

Hello again, Sora here! My goodness; this story has been up for only two days and already I have received 10 reviews. I admit I'm quite excited about it. To my reviewers, I hope this chapter lives up to your kind words.

Well, let me do the run down one more time. This is and always will be a Rob/Rae pairing as they are my favorite. I happily welcome compliments, comments and constructive criticism. I even take flames so long as there is reason and it isn't about the pairing.

Anyway, before I chatter too long, I'd best get on with the story. Here you go!

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The next morning Raven woke up feeling warm, content…and very nauseated. She could almost feel herself turning as green as Beastboy. In one very deft move, Raven flung the sheets and Robin away from herself (and, unfortunately, off the bed). She snagged her robe from its peg and then made a beeline for the bathroom connected to her room. Her morning was not starting well.

Robin's morning didn't start off any better. He had been in the midst of a very pleasant dream when he was unceremoniously tossed from the bed to land with a bone rattling thud. It took a few moments for the sleep related disorientation to wear off, and when it did, he heard Raven in the bathroom praying to the porcelain gods. He gathered from the curses in between that she was in a rather foul mood about it too.

Raven could consider herself a very tolerant person, but there were few things she hated more than throwing up. It was a disgusting and exhausting process that she usually took great pains to avoid. At the moment her only solace was that the illness didn't last long. When Raven was sure the last of the nausea had passed, she unsteadily stood up and moved toward the sink. She was about to reach for her toothbrush when a green clad hand held the item before her, toothpaste already applied.

"Here," Robin said softly as she took it from him. His voice held vast amounts of concern.

"Thanks," Raven muttered around her toothbrush.

"You feeling any better?" he asked. Raven raised an eyebrow before spitting.

"Anything is better than what I was doing." He continued to look at her. "Yes, the nausea has passed. I'm feeling okay now," she finished. While Raven was rinsing out her mouth, Robin placed a hand to her forehead.

"Do you think you're coming down with something? You don't feel warm, but you can't be too careful."

"Robin, I'm fine," she assured him quietly. "I ate some of Starfire's food yesterday, in an insane attempt at kindness, and it must have gotten the best of me." Robin looked hesitant.

"Well," he began, "okay, but, stay home today. You know, rest. You look like you could use it."

"Where are you off to?" she asked.

"Well, I've gotta go buy a couple new lamps," Robin replied, he grinned at her. "You blew three of them up last night." Raven looked sheepish followed closely by annoyed.

"I'm overdue for my meditation," she muttered before taking one last sip of water and replacing the cup to its place. "That must be why the lamps blew. Anything else get damaged?"

"The desk, but it'll be fine. It was only a few scratches," he answered. Raven leaned against the counter in thought and Robin's worry returned again. "You're sure you'll be okay?" he pressed.

"Yes, I promise, I'm fine." Exasperation was creeping into her voice. Robin took that as a sign to back off and give her some space for awhile. He smiled lightly.

"Alright, I'll leave you to your meditation. I'm going to go change and head out. Please get some rest though. I'll see you later." With that he leaned over and gave her a kiss on her temple and left for his own room.

As soon as Robin was well out of earshot, Raven sighed deeply. She really hated lying to him. She had been fighting nausea for the better part of a week or so. However, she wasn't going to tell him that or she'd never get the chance to meditate. Raven wasn't lying when she said she was overdue for it.

Quickly Raven shed her robe and donned her usual outfit. Once she was sure she was cleaned up enough, she assumed her lotus position. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

Nevermore was much the same as it had always been. A little dark and a little rugged. The only thing that was different was the manic giggling that seemed to echo off the walls. Raven sighed and began walking to the source of the sound.

It did not take Raven very long to find the corral in which she now contained her emotions. What was going on inside the corral could only be described as a bizarre scene of chaos. Joy and Happiness, the source of the manic giggling heard earlier, were running and dancing around their area of containment. Though they were already the embodiments of Raven's happiness and energy, their activity seemed to have increased two fold.

Looking around again, Raven spotted Courage and Timid. Courage was grinning from ear to ear and swinging Timid around. Poor Timid looked like she was going to have a coronary and was continually muttering something about pain while Courage kept a running line of assurances.

Love was sitting near the center of the corral. She was glowing and holding fast to a bright orb of light. Not far away Anger was sulking in her cage and Slovenly was cackling inanely about one thing or another.

Raven glanced around curiously. There was one emotion that was strangely absent. "Hello, Raven, long time no see." Raven spun around feeling mildly startled. A yellow clad emotion was walking towards her with a pleasant smile on her face. Raven nodded her head.

"Intelligence. Yes, I suppose I was overdue for a visit."

"Indeed," Intelligence replied. "We were beginning to wonder if you were ever to return, or if we would have to content ourselves with our new addition." Raven fixed Intelligence with a quizzical look. Intelligence's smile never faltered and she indicated to the orb Love was holding. Raven studied it for a moment. It was bright with a rich mixture of reds and purples.

"Wha?" Raven asked suspiciously, "That isn't what I think it is, is it? Please tell me it isn't," Raven moaned. Intelligence chuckled.

"Let me be the first to congratulate you, Raven. Our little introvert is going to be a mother! That there is the bond you are beginning to form with your child. When the child is born, the bond will be complete." When Intelligence was finished, she watched Raven for any sort of reaction.

Raven handled the news in the most appropriate way she could think of. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she went belly up.

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My! Another chapter done. I hope you enjoyed it. It's up a little earlier than I anticipated, but when my muse insists, there is no arguing with her. I hope you have enjoyed it. Many thanks to those who reviewed. I hope you'll stick with me in the coming chapters! Good-bye for now. 


	3. How to Tell Him

Once again, hello. I'm back with chapter three. This story is yet young and it already has 20 reviews! To those of you who reviewed, I am most touched by your words. I hope this chapter is worthy of them as well.

A quick reminder, I don't own Teen Titans. I am merely borrowing the characters for this story. All the credit goes to their creators.

At the moment there is little more to say, so on with the fic. I hope you enjoy!

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When Raven finally came around, she found she was no longer in Nevermore. Instead she was in her room. Her room. For some reason the words didn't sound right. She glanced around. Robin's things were scattered throughout the area. His presence in her life was marked everywhere.

She glanced to a far corner of her room. In it sat a large mahogany desk. It was covered with newspapers, clippings, books and pictures. Several months ago Raven had come down with the flu and Robin had taken it upon himself to take care of her. He moved the desk into the room to make sure he could both help her and get some work done. Though she was long since recovered, the desk never left and was in constant use.

Her gaze traveled to her bathroom door. Behind it his favorite towel and robe hung next to hers. Frequently his shampoos, soaps and toothbrush were also mixed in among hers. Just next to the bathroom door was her closet. Even there Robin's presence was marked. His costumes and some civilian clothes hung up with hers.

Over on her bookshelf, some of his favorite books and odds and ends had joined hers. Even the bed and its surroundings showed Robin. His alarm clock was on the right side of the bed while hers was on the left. All of these things told Raven one thing: though her name was on the door, it was no longer just her room. It was their room.

That thought sent a peculiar feeling of warmth through Raven. It gave her some courage and hope. She was very worried about Robin's reaction, but perhaps everything would be okay. The time on the clock caught her attention and startled her. While no time ever passed in Nevermore, several hours had passed in Titan Tower. Robin was sure to be home soon, if he wasn't already. She sighed deeply and prepared to go. The longer she waited the harder it would become. Raven opened the door and was given a surprise.

Soundproof doors are both a blessing and a curse. One seeking solitude and silence could easily find it. However, it also meant being cut off from awareness of the outside world and its happenings. For Raven, such was the case. For when she opened the door, sounds of chaos assaulted her ears. Four different voices were screaming various things. It was coming from the main living room…two stories down. The amethyst eyed woman raced to the scene.

What Raven saw when she arrived would have been funny, had Cyborg not been preparing to flambé Robin with his ion cannon. The two friends were against the far wall of the room. Robin looked both angry and terrified. He was yelling at Cyborg to be reasonable, and that there was no need for such action.

Cyborg looked completely irate. Trying to be heard over Robin, he was yelling things about not touching his baby sister.

Above them were Beastboy and Starfire. They were, perhaps, the loudest of them all. However, what they were yelling were vastly different. Starfire was screaming and begging them to come to peace. She did not want to see her leader and friend become "fried glorkinflack" nor did she want another hole in the walls.

Beastboy was in Starfire's arms. She had begun gripping him in worry for her two friends. Beastboy's cries were simply for oxygen. He was steadily becoming more blue than green, and it had nothing to do with is powers.

It took Raven only a moment to take it all in, and she was not happy. She was already stressed out and all the yelling was promising her a migraine. Her patience was worn very thin and was near to breaking. "ENOUGH!" she screamed. Black tendrils of energy snaked through the room and everything became deathly quiet. "Thank you," she said tersely. "Now, will someone _kindly_ explain to me why Cyborg is preparing to barbecue Robin? Or do we have to do this the hard way?" Her voice promised a lot of pain if she did not get an answer. Robin was the first to speak; his girlfriend's temper did not faze him quite so much anymore.

"Cyborg knows about us," he said simply Raven looked at him, "they all do. Starfire figured us out. Not that we worked very hard at keeping it a secret."

"I see," Raven said evenly. Her gaze turned to Cyborg, "However, I fail to see how that explains your sudden urge to turn my boyfriend into a black spot on the wall." Cyborg was too startled at Raven's sharp tone to reply.

Cyborg's extended silence seemed to dissipate Raven's anger. Her body slumped and she looked tired and worried. She turned to Cyborg, "You and I will be having a word shortly." To Robin she said, "You and I, however, need to talk privately…right now." With that said, Raven spun on her heel and left the eerily silent room.

Robin quickly found Raven in her meditation room. The lights were kept low and he knew the fighting had probably caused her a headache. His concern intensified. "Rae?" he asked quietly. "It's pretty dark in here. You doing okay?"

"For the most part," she replied. "Please come sit down. We have much to discuss." Robin fully entered the room and sat down across from her.

"Yes?" Robin prompted. Raven gave a shaky sigh.

"This is very hard to say," she muttered. He noted she was uncharacteristically nervous and scared. The last time she looked that way, Trigon was preparing to make her his portal. That though took blood from Robin's face.

"Rae, does this have something to do with your father, or anything like that? Are you in some kind of danger? Please, tell me!" he cried. Raven held a finger to his lips and looked at him.

"Relax, Boy Wonder, I'm in no danger. This is slightly…different, it will change our lives and I'm worried about how you will react to it…"Raven trailed off and Robin broke in.

"Raven, you know I love you. You can tell me anything that is happening in here," he touched her head, "or here," he touched her heart. Raven gently grabbed his hand. He had given her the opening she needed. She moved his hand down to her lower abdomen.

"What about in here?" she asked quietly. Robin looked confused.

"I don't think I understand," he told her. Raven gripped his hand and closed her eyes.

"What's going on in here is our child…I'm pregnant." There was total silence and Raven decided to risk a look at him. Robin was sitting completely still. His eyes were open wide and his jaw was slack. She lightly probed his emotions and found no anger, just shock. Relieved that he wasn't completely freaking out, she stood up and leaned down to him. "When you're ready to talk, I'll be in the bedroom." Then she kissed his cheek and departed. It was his turn to think.

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Well, thit is the end of chapter three. Please forgive me as it is somewhat shorter than the previous two. I am hoping to make up for that in chapter four. I hope you have found this chapter up to your standards. Chapter four should be up shortly. Good-bye for now. 


	4. What He Says

Hello again. I've finally returned. Please forgive my tardiness in my update. I have struggled to write this chapter to my liking and I hope it is to your liking as well. To those who have reviewed, I give you many many thanks.

I do not own Teen Titans. What more can I say? Please enjoy the chapter!

* * *

It had been an hour since Robin and Raven spoke. During that hour, Raven threw up once more and went through a very informative meditation. When she finished with that, she chose one of her favorite books and laid herself across her bed on her stomach to read it. 

"I wouldn't get too used to that if I were you," Robin said softly as he entered the room. Raven looked up and flashed him a quizzical look.

"Get used to what?" she asked as tension seeped into her voice. She began to fear the worst. Robin, however, dispelled the worry.

"Lying on your stomach," he replied. "Eventually you're going to be way to pregnant to do that." Raven studied her boyfriend thoughtfully.

"You're taking this rather well," she murmured flatly. Robin suddenly looked sheepish. In his customary nervous fashion, he ran his hand through his hair.

"I'd let you believe that, but the training room wouldn't support your theory."

"Why is that?" Raven asked slowly.

"Well," he began drawing out the word nervously, "let me put it to you this way: after you left the room, I inflicted several thousand dollars worth of damage to the room and its equipment. However, somewhere amidst the destruction, I think I came to a decision." Raven looked away.

"I see," she answered. Sorrow laced her voice. Robin's brow furrowed and we walked over to join her on the bed. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she stiffened.

"Something's upsetting you," he pointed out flatly. She turned and fixed him with a look.

"No shit, Sherlock," she deadpanned. "I'm pregnant and the father of my child, the love of my life has just told me he has no desire to be a part of my life. Should I be happy about this!" she bit out the last part angrily. Robin looked very startled.

"What?" he asked and looked very confused. "When in this conversation did I ever say I didn't want you or this child?" Raven looked at him so hopefully that his heart ached. He drew her very close. "One of these days, I hope you really get this. I. Love. You. Nothing is going to change that, ever. You mean the world to me." Raven took his hand and held it tight. Robin contemplated his next words very carefully.

"We're young. You're only nineteen and I'm barely a year older than that. We're also Titans, super heroes. It's a dangerous occupation. I can't lie to you; this whole thing scares me… a lot."

"It scares me too," Raven admitted.

"But as much as it scares me, I know this for sure. I will be right beside you and we'll take this challenge together." Raven said nothing for a long time. Finally, Robin just barely heard her answer.

"Thank you."

The two stayed together very quietly for about a half an hour. Both were very lost in their thoughts until Robin finally spoke. "You still have to talk to Cyborg, remember? He's probably waiting for you in his garage, working on the T-car or something."

"Oh joy," Raven groaned. "You coming?" she asked as she made to stand up. Robin cringed.

"You know how I told you I'd stand by you through everything?"

"Yes," Raven answered suspiciously.

"It starts after you talk to Cyborg."

"Coward."

"Maybe, but I'm a coward who's gonna live to see his kid," Robin said flatly. "I don't know about you, but being on the receiving end of Cy's cannon is anything but settling and safe." Raven rolled her eyes but nodded.

"I suppose it's for the best. This could get ugly."

When Raven entered the garage, Cyborg was busy buffing the T-Car. He turned when he heard the doors swish close. "Raven," he said tensely. She nodded. "You've come for our talk then?"

"Something like that," Raven replied. "You tried to fry Robin…my boyfriend. Why?" she asked flatly.

"I can't really explain it," Cyborg answered honestly. "I got worried and something snapped."

"Worried?" Raven looked curious. Cyborg shrugged.

"Yeah. I can't help it. You're like my little sister, Anna. I lost her in an accident. The same one that made me as much a mechanical as human," he explained. Raven nodded understandingly.

"Then you're trying to protect me, not unlike you would have your sister."

"Yeah, I guess," Cyborg looked a little lost and a little sad. Raven, in a rare show of affection, walked forward and hugged him.

"Thank you," she said softly. "I appreciate it, I really do, but…" she trailed off as her thoughts left her.

"But what?" Cyborg encouraged.

"I'm nineteen now, I'm grown up now. You can't protect me every step of the way anymore." Cyborg looked hurt.

"I don't think I can just let go," he said thoughtfully. "You've kinda grown on me…really grown on me." Raven shook her head.

"You don't have to let go…siblings never really do. You just have to step back a bit. Let me make my own decisions, my own…mistakes," she paused for a moment, "and Robin loves me, let him be the one to protect me now."

"I can do that," Cyborg said after a moment of silence, "but I'm still gonna look out for you." Raven nodded and cracked a small smile. To her surprise, Cyborg gathered her up again. "Love ya, Dark Girl." Raven made no reply, but when she returned his gesture, she said it all.

When they parted, Cyborg noticed how uneasy Raven looked. He became worried. "Something else on your mind?"

"Not exactly my mind," she answered evasively.

"Raven, what's going on?"

"I'm pregnant." That sentence stopped everything. Cyborg just stared at her blankly.

"Excuse me?" he asked slowly. Raven sighed.

"I am expecting a baby," she said in a mildly irritated voice. In any situation, she hated repeating herself.

"You are WHAT? PREGNANT?" he screeched. "HOW? WHO? WHEN?" Raven winced and rolled her eyes.

"I am pregnant. I had sex. Robin is the father. I am just shy of two months along."

"Raven, you're nineteen! How could this happen?" His voice became strangled, "P-pregnant..nnnngggghhhh." There was a loud clatter as metal struck concrete. Raven gazed at the motionless man before her with a mixture of worry and exasperation.

Using her telekinesis, she propped Cyborg up against a wall. As she departed she muttered, "That went better than I had planned."

* * *

I have looked back at my previous chapters and I know there is little humor in them. There will be soon; I am just taking the time right now to reveal the relationships in the tower. For those who are wondering, no, Cyborg is not in love with Raven. It is a sibling thing, family love. Yes, I have taken some liberties with Cyborg's past as I do not know what really happened. I apologize if this bothers you. As for Cyborg's reaction, my friend reacted the same way when he found out his own sister was pregnant. I hope you have enjoyed. Chapter five will be out in a week or so! Good-bye for now. 


	5. Ohh Boy!

Hello everyone. Today it's Mizu online and updating in place of Sora. She apologizes for her absence. However, she's feeling just a little under the weather. So, she wrote the next chapter and I'm here to update the post.

Sora really hopes this chapter satisfies you, it's a little longer than her previous chapters and has an interesting plot twist. By the way, Sora would again like to thank all of the wonderful people who reviewed her story!

Anyway, we don't own the Teen Titans and we never will. On with the chapter!

* * *

When Raven was finished speaking to Cyborg, she returned to her room. However, Robin was not in there. She sighed; she had been hoping to talk to him more. There were still many things to discuss and settle. Raven flopped down on the bed and expelled another tired gust of air. 

Her mind began to contemplate Robin's favorite haunts in the tower. She didn't necessarily feel like searching all eight stories of the tower. A knock on the door put an end to her thoughts. "Come in," Raven called as a tendril of black energy allowed the door to open. Starfire stood in the doorway. Her face looked troubled.

"Friend Raven," Starfire began slowly, "you are alone right now, yes?"

"Uh, yeah," Raven answered, feeling a little apprehensive.

"May I enter?" Starfire asked. Raven silent gestured for the alien princess to join her on the bed. The redhead gave a small smile of joy.

Once Starfire was settled Raven gave her a searching look. "Is something bothering you?"

"I am wondering if we can partake in the confession that is the talk of girls." Raven looked visibly startled. Girl talk was very rare between the two girls as Raven usually had a very low tolerance for it. However, the pleading and desperate look on Starfire's face indicated that saying no was out of the question. She nodded and tried to look comforting. It was a very strange effort.

"Well, I suppose. What's on your mind…Star?" The nickname felt strange on her tongue. However, it helped Starfire to relax.

"I have been keeping a secret from our team," she breathed out. Raven stiffened. Were they going to have another Terra episode? Bile rose in her throat, she wasn't sure if she could handle another betrayal. However, Starfire quickly put that fear to rest with her next statement.

"I should begin by admitting that I know you and Robin are life mates," Raven looked startled, but did not deny it.

"Is that all, that's nothing terrible, or anything to be upset about. But…" Starfire cut the sorceress off.

"There is more. I knew something was destined to happen since the rise of Trigon…or maybe before." Raven's eyes widened, she didn't give Starfire enough credit. The woman was sharp in her own way. However, she could not find a way to express the thought.

"Ummm…"

"I shall confess," Starfire continued as though Raven had not spoken, "this understanding brought me much ache of the heart." Raven felt a pang of guilt. "Once, I truly thought Robin was the one for me. I had quite the smash on him."

"Crush," Raven corrected distractedly. Where was this heading?

"Crush," Starfire repeated dutifully, "yes, I had a very large crush on him. It wounded greatly to find that "my boy" belonged to someone else." Raven winced.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, all monotone forgotten.

"Do not be, Friend Raven!" Starfire insisted. "I am no longer hurting. Robin is not the one for me, but for you. My heart knows great joy that my best friend knows love and happiness. You are a good person, not like Kitten or others, and deserve to feel this joy." Raven's eyes prickled with tears.

"Star, you're turning me into a fountain over here," she said thickly. The Tamaranian looked horrified.

"My friend, my apologies! This is a power I was most unaware of! Come! Friend Cyborg may fix this horrible accident!" Starfire grabbed Raven's hand and prepared to drag her out the room.

"Starfire!" Raven cried when she was able to get a word in edgewise, "Relax. It's an expression. It means you're making me cry." Starfire's face turned from horror to misery.

"My friend, I meant not to harm you." Raven sighed.

"They're happy tears. They mean I'm very happy."

"Joyous!" Raven was suddenly trapped in a very tight embrace. While trapped in Starfire's arms, Raven read her emotions. Though she could feel joy radiating from the girl, she could also feel worry and apprehension.

Once Starfire relinquished her, she asked, "Is there something else you want to tell me?" Starfire sat back and regarded Raven.

"Yes, but I am afraid," she replied quietly. Raven suppressed a groan. They were going to have to beat around the bush.

"Okay," she said calmly. Being flat and monotone now would only serve to agitate Starfire further. "How about we just talk until you're ready to talk to me?"

"That would be splendid."

There was a short silence as Raven studied Starfire and decided that Star's relationship with Speedy would be a decent course for the conversation.

"Speedy, he helped you past Robin, didn't he," she said. Starfire cringed slightly and blushed vividly. Raven raised an eyebrow. Pay dirt. She had not been wrong in guessing that Speedy fed into Star's need to talk.

"Very much so, yes," Starfire answered guiltily. "We began talking at the large celebration tossed when Trigon met his end. Speedy is much like Robin, yet very different. He is not so dark or intense." Raven nodded. Starfire's anxiety was cresting. They were getting close to the heart of the matter. Starfire looked lost in a daydream for a moment before forcing her thoughts back into focus. "Eventually I developed a crush on him and we partook of the earth custom known as dating. I knew he was the one for me, and I told him as much several earth months ago. He feels the same…" Starfire trailed off.

"That's wonderful, Starfire," Raven said softly. Happiness and relief overtook her sorrow and worry.

"There is still more, Friend Raven. This is most difficult to speak of. Six months ago, near the day of your birth, Speedy was chosen to accompany the League of Justice on a mission. He would be undercover and far away." Raven frowned in sympathy; she recalled his going away party. It had been very hard on Starfire.

Starfire continued. "Though it was a great honor for him, I was afraid of losing him. I feared he would find another girl, a prettier girl…a better girl. Like Robin did. I expressed this fear to Speedy. He told me I was the only one he wanted to spend his life span with. He proposed marriage that night and I accepted." Raven looked very stunned.

"Oh…my," was all she could get out. Starfire ignored her.

"On the day of your birth, we were, as they say, wed. I apologize that we missed your party of celebration."

"I-it's no problem," Raven replied slowly. "Congratulations?" Starfire smiled briefly before her troubled look resumed.

"I give you thanks, but there is one more thing."

"What's that?"

"I am going to be a mother now. I am now three months into development. Tamaranians carry longer than humans, but still, the child will make me stretch soon. I will need to tell the others. Do you think they will be as peaceful as you?"

Raven said nothing. She simply stared in wide eyed shock. She wasn't even aware that she had ceased breathing until it made her light headed. Suddenly, the dark woman toppled from the bed. Starfire gave a startled scream. However, Raven did not seem to be harmed. She was conscious and staring at the ceiling in a stunned fashion. "Friend Raven?"

Behind them, the door flew open and the three men of the tower raced in. "Star, is everything okay?" Robin demanded.

"Yeah, we heard your scream. Somethin' happen?" Cyborg asked.

"Dudes, is Raven okay?" Beastboy looked a little freaked out.

"I do not know. I think Friend Raven may be damaged…"Starfire replied fretfully. Robin looked stricken as he approached his girlfriend.

"Rae? Rae, can you hear me? Did you hit your head?" he asked worriedly.

"She's married and pregnant, we're both pregnant…this can't be happening…" Raven murmured, though it was hard to tell if she was talking to Robin or herself. Behind them Cyborg gaped and Beastboy looked confused.

"Am I missing something?" He asked. "Who's pregnant?"

"Raven and Starfire, apparently," Cyborg replied, finally regaining his voice.

"Dude! No way! This is too weird…I gotta…I gotta go lie down." Beastboy hit the floor. Cyborg looked at the green changeling and then back to the scene before him. They were going to have to have a long talk very soon, all of them.

"I'm going to take grass stain to the living room. When y'all are done here, join us. I think it's time we had a nice long talk to sort everything out." Robin nodded mutely and Cyborg carried Beastboy from the room. Once the door was closed, Starfire clapped in delight, her previous worries forgotten.

"Glorious day!" She cried. "We shall rid the air of our secrets! I shall have to make the pudding of new life!" Robin watched as the excited princess began listing all of the ingredients required and Raven's normally pale face turned green. Finally the poor girl took off towards the bathroom with Starfire gazing after her in confusion. Robin sighed.

"I have a feeling these next few months are going to be very very long…"

* * *

Well, folks, that's it for this chapter. Sora isn't as fond of it as she was of the others, but she still hopes you liked it. Let us know if you want to! Well, chapter six should be out faster as Sora is now recovering from her illness. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with us! Mizu out. 


	6. Not the Mall!

Well, here I am again. It has been awhile and I apologize. However, this is the latest installment in Love and Family. I will not talk long and I shall let you get on to the story. I hope you enjoy.

I do not own Teen Titans. Compliments and Criticisms are welcome and pairing flames are not. Here we go.

* * *

One morning, roughly a week after Raven and Starfire broke their news to the team; Robin woke at his usual time. He was the only one up at the moment. This was particularly unusual. Usually, both he and Raven were up with the sun to share a sunrise and their favorite beverage. Now, he noticed, Raven was prone to going to bed earlier and getting up later (though she was still up earlier than Beastboy). Robin decided it must have been one of the effects of the pregnancy.

That particular morning, Robin had opted out of his usual cup of coffee. He decided to wait until Raven woke up. In the meantime, he remained in bed and pulled out The Davinci Code. While he read, one hand absently stroked Raven's hair.

Sometime later, Raven experienced both a pleasant and stomach turning pull to reality. The hand stroking her hair was soothing and comforting; the fetus playing havoc with her stomach was not. As much as she wanted to stay, morning sickness caused her to leap from the bed and race for the bathroom. All through her dry heaves, Raven silently cursed. Though only two months along, Raven could safely say she despised being pregnant.

When she finally felt well enough to venture into public, Raven and Robin headed for the kitchen. By the time they came out, it was alive with the activity of the other three Titans. Cyborg was at the stove. He still refused to cook tofu; however, as the years went by, he could be found relenting and cooking a vegetable dish for Beastboy.

Starfire was sitting in the dining room happily mixing her mustard with a neon green substance. She was explaining to Beastboy that the substance would aid the unborn child in growth. Beastboy looked like he had received too much information, a sign that perhaps he had not fully recovered from the shocks of the past week. Raven simply looked ill at the sight and Robin forced her to look away.

When Cyborg emerged into the dining room, he grinned at the two recent arrivals. "Good morning, how are the birds this morning?"

"Fine," Robin replied fairly cheerfully.

"I've had better," Raven answered flatly.

"Great!" Cyborg said enthusiastically, blithely ignoring Raven's comment. "I bet y'all are hungry. I made waffles con carne, eggs con carne and coffee."

"Con carne?" Robin put forward tentatively. Meat filled coffee did not sound appetizing in the least.

"Nah, just regular," Cyborg assured him before a worried look crossed his face. "Um, is something wrong with Raven?" Robin turned to look in Raven's direction. The gothic teen had fled Raven's side in favor of shoving saltine crackers and sprite down her throat.

"Um, I think it helps with morning sickness. She's sensitive to damn near every food and smell in the building." Robin chuckled lightly. Raven paused long enough to favor her boyfriend with a deadly glare. Cyborg briefly worried for Robin's health.

"Yo, should you really be aggravating her like that?" he asked. Robin laughed again.

"She can't keep food down long enough to catch me." He had progressed to full on teasing by then. Cyborg looked ready to run as the stove, encased in black, floated ominously toward Robin's head. Suddenly his teasing manner was gone, he became very serious.

"Put it down. You agreed not to use your powers. We don't know what it could do to the baby." The stove returned to its normal location and Raven muttered darkly under her breath. Robin smirked. "Love you too, Rae." He walked over and planted a small kiss on her cheek. Despite what had just transpired, the affectionate action caused a small smile to grace Raven's face. Cyborg grinned and thought about his wonderful, and he thanked the gods everyday, childless, girlfriend Bumblebee.

Starfire chose that moment to unleash her latest "glorious" idea. "Friends!" she cried, "Let us go to the mall of shopping and seek the clothing of mah-turn-ity and babies." It would be a most joyous outing!" Her eyes were bright with excitement and hope.

Raven's smile vanished immediately. In its place was a horrified look. "Ummm…" She did not like where the conversation was going.

Robin looked thoughtful. "That's actually not a bad idea, Star." Raven gave him a look that screamed 'traitor'. He shrugged. "Well, eventually, both of you will not fit into your uniforms…and unless you want to wander around naked, you're going to need different clothes. The next glare informed him that pages were rapidly being added to 1000 Ways to Mangle Annoying Birds. Undaunted, Robin continued. "That sounds like a good way to spend the afternoon." Raven's final look was hard to interpret. It was either 'you are so sleeping on the couch', 'sleep with one eye open', 'no sex for a decade', or an odd mixture of the three. He flinched, that last one would have a lasting sting.

"Glorious!" Starfire cried out. She turned her gaze to Cyborg. "Will we not have a most wonderful time, Friend Cyborg?"

While Robin had been speaking, Cyborg had been rapidly dialing Bumblebee's number. When he felt Starfire looking at him, he began speaking very loudly to his very confused girlfriend. "Ah, Bee! Yeah, I'm really excited for this date too!"

"What da…" Bumblebee began. Cyborg swiftly cut her off.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're excited too! Actually I should probably leave now so that I can pick you up on time, huh? On my way then. Love ya! Bye!" Cyborg hung up before Bee could get a word in edgewise. He looked nervously at the Tamaranian. "Uhh, I'd love to go to the mall and all…but I have a date. Um, I'd better go." Beastboy raced forward and clung to his leg.

"Take me with yoooooooou!" he cried pathetically. "Please don't make me goooo!" Cyborg tried to shake him off.

"Friend Beastboy, since Friend Robin is accompanying Friend Raven, perhaps you would come with me?" Starfire asked hopefully. Beastboy looked terrified.

"Where's Speedy when you need him?" he moaned. At the mention of her husband, Starfire's face crumbled and she looked desolate. It was obvious she missed the archer dearly. She looked so miserable, guilt touched even Beastboy. He released Cyborg's leg and allowed himself to be suckered into the void. "Starfire," he began in resignation, "it would be an honor to accompany you."

* * *

Well, there it is. I have finally come out with the sixth chapter. I hope you all have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Until next time! Sora out. 


	7. Never Again

Hello. Sora here again. Yes, I'm pretty busy today. Two new chapters (one for my other story and one for this one). I apologize for the long wait. Illnesses have been my downfall these past few weeks. However, that is now the past and I'm up and kicking...for the most part. I'm well enough to write at least.

Well now, it's been awhile for me, so let me get back on track by running my standard. This is a Robin/ Raven fic and will remain as such. My luck has held out so far and I have received no flames, please help me continue that streak. Compliments are welcomed and encouraged, as are criticisms. Flames are okay too, so long as they aren't pairing flames.

I don't own the Teen Titans, but I'm pretty okay with that. Well, let's get on with this, shall we?

* * *

Cyborg offered to drive the team to the mall on his way to Titans East. It was eventful to say the least. They made four emergency stops for Raven, who was beginning to wonder if she would ever keep anything down again. The car had to stop a fifth time for Beastboy when he attempted to throw himself from the car in a last ditch effort to get out of shopping. Everyone was less than impressed. They stopped a sixth and seventh time to get food for Starfire. Each was beginning to realize that a Tamaranian pregnancy meant Starfire was constantly hungry. Overall, it took an hour and a half to get to a mall that was only a half hour away. 

"I'll see you later, have fun!" Cyborg called as he finally dropped his team at the mall entrance and sped away. Robin turned to look at everyone.

"Well, what should we do first?" he asked.

"Oh, the court of food, please!"

"The Gaming Stop! Mega Monkeys Rule!"

"Let's go back home."

"Oookay," Robin sighed. He glanced at his watch. "Well, it's 12:30 right now. How about we do lunch and figure everything out from there?" His suggestion was met with general agreement.

Though Robin had warded off an argument by suggesting they eat first, he was beginning to regret the decision. If the car ride had been bad, he decided lunch was just plain hell. Even Trigon would have thrown up his hands and stayed away.

During the meal, several things happened. Starfire spent $245 on food alone and then decided she still had the munchies and proceeded to "share" with the other people around them, as was indeed customary on Tamaran. It didn't go over so well.

Later, Robin happily ordered and prepared to eat his favorite soup and crackers, only to have the crackers taken by Raven. This was a great disappointment on his part.

Next, Beastboy undertook a very dangerous personal mission. He made it his goal to see how many times he could make Raven sick in one day by using tofu. This, of course, invoked her wrath and that of a particularly large, cafeteria style table. Both Beastboy and the table flew into a far wall.

Raven's little levitation trick in turned caused panic among the other diners of the food court, who didn't know what was going on. Everyone ran screaming in all directions. Starfire, a tad homesick for her home planet, thought that, because there was no evil nearby, everyone was playing a game not unlike one she used to play as a child. In her excitement, she flew about and occasionally unleashed starbolts.

In the midst of all of it, Robin sighed deeply and put his head in his hands. "Lord give me strength," he muttered.

Finally, two hours later, things were starting to get straightened up. Beastboy and his table assailant were carefully pried from the wall. The massive damage around the food court was billed through the Titans' insurance company. Raven had been reminded to keep her temper and powers in check for the baby's sake and Starfire had been patiently informed that, in this instance, the screaming had not been a part of a game. She apologized immediately, and the well loved Titan was quickly forgiven.

Eventually, the group made it to the first store of the day; In the Beginning. Starfire grinned in delight and proceeded to drag Beastboy toward the back of the store. The poor boy whimpered the whole way.

Once they were alone, Robin turned to look at his girlfriend. "Ready?" he asked. Raven gave him an almost pitiable glare.

"Just take me home," she muttered.

"We can't do that until Cyborg gets back in a few hours."

"I hate you."

"I love you too," Robin chimed. Raven sighed.

"Fine, we may as well make this day productive. Come on, I'll pick up a few shirts and some pants." The two wandered into the maternity store unaware of a camera clicking furiously a few yards away from them.

Nearly an hour later, Starfire strode cheerfully out of the store laden down with multiple bags. Beastboy followed carrying the rest of the burden. Behind them, Robin and Raven emerged carrying one bag apiece. They were chatting quietly together when Starfire got her next idea. "Friends, may I put forth another idea?" she asked. They all looked hesitant, but Robin nodded.

"Sure, Star, lay it on us." Starfire tilted her head and Raven suppressed a grin. She knew what was coming next. Robin called out in shock when Starfire suddenly dumped her bags on him.

"I appreciate you offering to carry my bags, Robin, but what has this to do with my question?"

"He meant for you to give us your idea, Star," Raven explained quietly. Starfire looked mildly embarrassed.

"Oh dear, my Earth terms have become better, but your…how do you call it, slang? Yes, your slang still eludes me at times." Raven cracked a small grin.

"No, I think you did just the right thing." From under the mound of bags, Robin glared up at her. He knew Raven constituted this as some form of revenge. "Anyway, what is your idea?"

"May we please venture to the store of infant items?" Starfire looked excited and hopeful. Raven's eyes widened and she looked ready to bolt. Beastboy, laden down and trapped by his burden, looked ready to cry. Robin looked torn between his two choices: save his own hide and that of his loved one, or give into the happiness of his dear friend.

In the end, Starfire's look clinched it and even Raven knew it. It was a little known secret that Robin was a sucker for the puppy dog eyes when it came to the women in his life. With Starfire happily leading the way, the group trudged toward Baby Emporium.

Once inside, they were met with the shock of their lives. Neither of the birds could bring themselves to walk any further than the front door, and when Starfire took off with Beastboy down one of the countless aisles, they made no move to follow. Robin turned to Raven. "This place is huge," he squeaked. Raven nodded silently, a look of shock on her own face. "I didn't know infants required this much."

"Neither did I," Raven whispered.

"I'm scared…hold me?"

"You got us into this, Robin."

"We're screwed."

"Oh yeah."

Some three hours later, Robin and Raven managed to track down Beastboy (who was found cowering in the crib section, he refused to look at breast pumps) and Starfire. By the time Cyborg picked them up and took them home, they were all exhausted.

The first thing Raven did upon entering the tower was make her way to her room and collapse on her bed. Robin was quick to follow. After they had laid in silence for a few moments, Raven spoke. "Never again, Boy Blunder. I refuse to undergo such torture ever again." Robin sighed.

"I think next time, we leave Beastboy or Cyborg to take Star shopping and we'll go on our own."

"What part of 'I'll never go again' aren't you getting?"

"I get it, but you and I both know you're eventually going to need…more clothes." Robin nearly said "bigger clothes" but wasn't willing to risk it. "And at some point in time, we're going to have to shop for things to put in the nursery." Raven groaned.

"That's it, I'm done being pregnant."

"I don't think you can do that."

"I know I can't, but I feel better saying it."

"Whatever floats your boat," Robin quipped. Raven glanced at him and sighed.

"I know we have to go again, but give me a month. I need to recover from this most recent…ordeal you call shopping." Robin chuckled and leaned over to give her a kiss.

"Sure thing," he answered. The two birds were perfectly content to cuddle together in silence and allow themselves to decompress from the day. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Cyborg came up and knocked on the door.

"Yo, you two. Batman's on the line and he looks pissed. You'd better get down here quick." Robin and Raven glanced at each other before scrambling off the bed and down to the communications room.

Once they were there, they gazed into the screen containing a mildly irate Bruce Wayne. "Good evening," he said slowly. Raven couldn't help but get the chills. This man could be terrifying when he wanted to be.

"Uh, hi Bruce," Robin stuttered. "What's up?"

"Have either of you seen the breaking news this evening?" Bruce asked in a dangerous, faux conversational voice.

"Um, no. Is there something we should know?"

"Not quite. More like is there something you should be telling me?"

"We don't understand," Raven offered quietly. She was confused as to where this conversation was going.

"Perhaps this will help," Bruce replied as he pushed a button. A moment later a clip popped up. There was a picture of Robin and Raven walking into the maternity store with the caption reading: Resident Birds Preparing to Nest? Both birds stared at the clip in shock. "Well?" the millionaire prompted.

"Shit," Robin muttered.

* * *

Well, that concludes chapter seven of Love and Family. I know it took me quite awhile and I again apologize. I hope you all enjoyed it. Until next time! Sora out. 


	8. A Bat and a Car

Hello again, Sora here! As I look back, I realize it has been a few days over a month since I last updated. Please accept my apologies. Senior year has kept me rather busy! I have to graduate after all, the gown has already been ordered. Anyway, enough with the excuses. I am here now, and so is chapter eight of Love and Family.

I would quite seriously like to thank every person who has reviewed my story so far. Your support truly keeps me going. 130 reviews make me feel nearly giddy with joy. Thank you all!

I do not own Teen Titans, but I'm okay with it. Here we go.

* * *

"Well?" Bruce drawled slowly, "I'm waiting for what should be a most fascinating explanation." Starfire chose that moment to wander into the room seeking her friends. She had heard Bruce's sarcastic prompt and was a little confused. As adept as the alien woman was becoming with Earth customs, the identification and use of sarcasm was still elusive.

"What is there to explain?" she asked curiously. "Friends Robin and Raven became joined in the manner of couple's and are bringing a new life into the world. Should not this be a most joyful occasion and not a time for such looks of ugliness?"

Bruce did nothing save to glare at the Tamaranian's joyful description of the situation. "You were not invited to this conversation," he bit out. Starfire became startled and hurt. Her cheerful manner meant she was rarely on the receiving end of such harshness. Even Raven was gentler.

"Umm." She was suddenly at a loss. Raven came to the defense of her friend.

"Cool it Grandpa," she nearly growled out. Bruce looked completely taken aback, people did not speak in such a manner to the intimidating man. Behind Raven, Starfire grinned briefly before tending to Robin who appeared to have fallen into fits of twitching. He just knew Bruce would kill them both for that.

"Excuse me?" Bruce asked incredulously.

"You heard me," Raven snapped back, "lay off Star. She doesn't deserve that kind of treatment and I much prefer her cheerful support to your sarcasm anyway."

"You called me Grandpa."

"No, really?" Raven's own sarcasm was simply oozing. Robin made a gurgling noise and twitched again. "Well, it's not as though I'm lying. Robin is your kid; I'm having his kid, therefore your grandkid. So yes, Grandpa. Are you following me so far?"

Bruce sighed, he couldn't argue that point. "Is he at least making an honest woman out of you?"

"You mean like what you did with all the women you slept with?" Raven asked dryly. By this time, Starfire had called in Cyborg who brought the defibrillator (quick note: a piece of medical technology to restart your heart). Robin had apparently gone into cardiac arrest.

"I see, the type to live in sin, then?"

"You have no idea," Raven drawled. Suddenly a small smile graced Bruce's features. He then spoke to Robin.

"You sure know how to pick 'em. This one's quite a mouth."

"Gee…thanks," Raven muttered. Robin made no reply. Bruce continued.

"Bring her around to Gotham sometime soon. I'd like to meet her properly." Then the screen went blank.

A few moments later, Robin croaked out a "sure" from his place on the floor.

Two weeks later, Robin had convinced Cyborg to let him use the T-Car. The mechanical man was worried for his "baby" and stuffed the entire backseat with emergency bags to combat Raven's continuing morning sickness. Robin, on the other hand, liberally stocked the car with sprites and saltine crackers.

Raven appreciated the stomach settling food items, but was less than impressed with the plastic bags. She expressed her displeasure by methodically disassembling an engine on the T-Sub.

The two left the tower late in the afternoon. In their wake was Cyborg, sobbing over his engine, Starfire, cheerfully waving good-bye, and Beastboy who was paying more attention to his handheld game console.

Robin looked very worried. "Don't worry," Raven hesitantly assured, "We'll only be gone today and tomorrow. Jump City will still be standing when we return." She left the "I hope" unsaid, but it seemed to speak volumes anyway and Robin did not relax. Raven sighed and turned to look out the window, damning her hormones and emotions for making her feel so sensitive. If Robin was going to be like that, it would be a long ride.

Raven's feelings of nausea, distress and resignation ebbed and flowed against Robin's mind and he felt guilty. None of his worries were really her fault. He sought to open the lines of communication. A conversation started the day before came to mind. He decided to reopen it.

"You know," he began quietly so as not to startle her, "we never did figure out the nursery arrangements." Raven turned to look at him with relief and appreciation evident on her face.

"We could always convert the evidence room down the hall." Raven's voice was perfectly level and nearly her whole countenance spoke of being quite serious. Robin studied her for a moment to find the tell-tale glint in her eyes. When he found it, he laughed softly.

"Wouldn't the book room do just as well?" he asked. Raven leaned back in her seat and appeared to consider it.

"I suppose it could be appropriate. After all, this child was conceived there." The tips of Robin's ears turned pink and he gave her a quizzical look. "Surely you remember that night," Raven remarked.

"Of course I do," Robin muttered. "As I recall, my back was sore for three days and your book of Azar left an imprint in my leg."

"That was also the night I simultaneously stopped being a virgin and started being pregnant." Robin looked startled.

"Wouldn't that mean…" he trailed off, seeking the right question.

"That I miscalculated?" Raven supplied. "Yes. By the time I told you, I was already eight weeks along. Now I'm just over eleven weeks."

"Just shy of three months," Robin calculated. Raven nodded.

"Glad to see you can still do your math," she quipped. Robin rolled his eyes good naturedly.

"So, this means you'd be due in how many months?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I suppose it would be a standard human gestation."

"Why is that?"

"Demons don't technically reproduce," she explained, "They just combine a piece of their soul with another's to create a separate being."

"So this would mean you're due sometime in the next six months," Robin clarified.

"Probably, yes," Raven answered.

"That's not a lot of time."

"It's plenty of time, don't go freaking out on me yet."

"It still means that we have to find a obstetrician, a pediatrician, birthing classes, make appointments for checkups and figure out the nursery," Robin listed off everything he could thing of, only pausing when he saw the look on Raven's face. "What?"

"Didn't I just tell you not to freak out? Listen, we don't have to worry about a lot of that for awhile. Besides, I don't need doctors and I'm not taking these classes you're talking about. I don't do group efforts, and my emotions are honestly better than any doctor. They know me inside and out."

"Alright," Robin conceded, "but please, appease my obsessive compulsive streak and at least help me figure out the sleeping arrangements."

"It's simple," Raven said calmly, "we'll convert the storage room that Starfire sleeps next to into a room for her child, and we'll convert your room for ours."

"Bwha?" he asked intelligently. He was slightly floored. Apparently, Raven saw fit to just oust him and leave him roomless.

"Think about it," she said simply, "you practically live in my room as it is. Let's just formalize the arrangement and move on with our lives."

"What about my stuff?" Robin protested.

"Oh, I thought we'd have a ceremonial burning, of course," Raven answered flatly. Robin looked completely horrified. "Robin," she said in mild concern, "I was kidding, and put your eyes back on the road or you may make all of these points quite moot by killing us."

"Right, right," he said quickly and returned his attention to the highway. "So what will we do with my stuff?"

"It'll be moved into our room. We'll rearrange the room to accommodate everything that is necessary. Then Cyborg can add a private door between the rooms since they're side by side."

"Are you honestly ready to give up your sanctuary of privacy?"

"Well, I'm already sharing my body, and frequently a bed, why not a room?"

"So you're sure you're okay with it," Robin pressed.

"Yes," she affirmed

"Why are you so sure?" he asked.

"Because I love you." There was silence for a moment. Then Robin spoke again.

"I love you too, but that was pretty high on the sap-o-meter."

"I blame it on the hormones," Raven deadpanned.

"I think you've finally gone mushy on me," he cooed in a teasing voice.

"Keep it up and you're sleeping on the couch tonight, and several nights to come if it suits me," Raven warned.

"Rae, dear, there are probably a hundred rooms in the Wayne Manor. It's going to be very hard to kick me out of bed."

"I promise it won't stop me."

The next few miles were driven in a companionable silence. However Robin, who was feeling both random and impish, decided to talk again. "So, if this kid's a girl, can we paint her room hot pink?" His only answer was Raven's hand smacking him in the back of his head.

The rest of the drive continued in a similar manner, moving between comfortable silences and loving banter. It continued mostly uninterrupted until they arrived at the Wayne Manor. Robin once again fell into his tense nervousness and even Raven felt more anxious than usual. Bruce never had said how he felt about the "Grandpa" remark, and now they were visiting him in his home where there would be no witnesses.

* * *

Well, there's chapter eight all finished for you. I'm already working on chapter nine, so I'm sure I will update sooner next time. For anyone wondering about Returning, I'll be posting a chapter of that soon as well. Thank you all for your patience. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. Until next time! Sora out. 


	9. Meeting Batman

Well, hello again. Sora here. I'm finally out of traction and back in action. Well, I suppose traction is not quite the term to use. I'm afraid, though, that I must apologize again. I promised to have an update much sooner than this. I can give a brief explanation for my tardiness. After a battle and subsequent loss with a brownie (yes, you heard me, a brownie), I sliced my hand open and lost total use of my left hand for quite some time. As you know, both hands are required for any sort of efficient typing. Today is the very first day I've been able to use my injured appendage. So, here I am ready to present chapter nine of Love and Family.

As you all know, this is a Rob/Rae fic and will not change. Please don't flame me for the pairings. Any other sort of response is happily welcomed.

I do not own the Teen Titans and suing me would be wasted time and energy. Now, without further ado, the story. Here we go!

* * *

Once they were secure in one of the many garages at the Wayne Manor, Robin helped Raven out of the car. They were greeted by Alfred. 

"Master Richard, welcome back."

"Thanks, Al," Robin answered casually. "Where's Bats?"

"Mr. Wayne," Alfred said, emphasizing his correction, "is waiting for you in his office. He instructed me to bring you as soon as you arrived."

"Whoo-hoo," Raven muttered darkly, "a long car ride followed immediately by a grilling. Can my day be anymore complete?"

"I take it this is not to your liking," Alfred said dryly.

"What was your first hint?" Raven returned.

"Perhaps your…delicate condition requires a rest before meeting with Master Wayne."

"There is no need to use such evasive language," Raven informed him. Her vocal pitch had not strayed far from her monotone. "I am knocked up and pregnant. I am not _delicate_"

"Quite," was all Alfred said.

For the duration of their "conversation" Robin had been quiet and watchful. As soon as he was sure they were done, he spoke up.

"Are you ready to stop chewing on each other's heads then?" he asked. Raven glared at him for a moment. Exhaustion did not agree with her. Robin looked back placidly, he was fairly sure she wouldn't up and annihilate him on the spot.

"So, you would like to rest then," Alfred asked, though it sounded more like a statement. Robin broke in before Raven had a chance to answer.

"Yes," he said quickly, "yes, that would be great."

"Indeed. Very well. You know where your room is. Miss Raven, walk this way, your quarters are elsewhere." Robin watched warily as the two began walking away. The two had not exactly hit it off. A small muscle was twitching just above Raven's eyebrow. Robin briefly wondered if he would ever see Alfred alive again.

An hour later, Robin was settled into his old room and wondering where Raven had been placed. He didn't have to wonder long though. Soon enough, a large hole appeared in his ceiling and his girlfriend dropped through it gracefully.

"No powers, "Robin reminded her out of habit. Raven snorted.

"I'm tired," she said simply. "There was no way I was walking down two flights of stairs and across the manor to the opposite wing."

"Lazy," Robin remarked, smirking.

"Try pregnant. It's exhausting."

"Why didn't you take a nap?"

"I tried, I…" she trailed off and mumbled something incomprehensibly.

"Hmm?" Robin asked curiously. "I can't hear you. You'll have to speak up."

"I got lonely," she muttered. "I'm not used to sleeping alone anymore." Robin kept a heroically straight face and he still got smacked upside the head.

"What!" he asked indignantly.

"I know what you're thinking."

"Oh, and what am I thinking?"

"Thoughts that will get you maimed one appendage at a time," Raven answered.

"Oh really."

"It can't really be so shocking that the freaky goth girl gets lonely." Raven's voice now reflected hurt. Robin decided her hormones were probably getting the best of her. He logged away the knowledge and set aside the joking matters. One arm drew Raven close.

"I have never considered you a freaky goth girl," he said soothingly to the hormonal woman. "You are a funny and intelligent person. I am honored that you find my presence worthy enough to miss." Raven relaxed against him and was silent for a moment.

"You know, sometimes I think your ability to say the right thing at the right time is what keeps you alive."

"Don't I know it," Robin muttered to himself.

"But," Raven continued, "You're still sleeping on the couch tonight." Robin was about to protest when someone knocked on the door.

"Yeah?"

"Master Wayne would sincerely like to see you…now," Alfred emphasized the now. "If you would be so kind as to come out we can fetch your girlfriend and be on our way."

"No problem," Robin answered, leading Raven to the door.

"I'm already here," Raven elaborated as they greeted Alfred.

"I wasn't interrupting a moment, was I?" Alfred asked dryly.

"You were," the two answered in the same tone.

"Teenagers," Alfred muttered.

"I'll have you know I'm twenty," Robin said indignantly.

"A young man then, twice as bad," Alfred returned.

The three continued to barb each other until they reached Bruce's study. "This is where I, thankfully, leave you," Alfred announced. He began to walk away, but he paused and turned to look at them. "It _is_ good to see you again, Richard," he said before truly taking his leave. Robin smiled and the two entered the study.

"My room is creepier," Raven remarked, not two seconds after they were in the door. "From what you told me, I was expecting a bit more. I'm disappointed."

"It must be difficult then, living in such a place as your room." They heard Bruce before they saw him appear from between two bookcases. Robin looked nervous.

"No worse than a Bat Cave, I'm sure," Raven sniped back. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "You didn't make him sleep upside-down, did you?"

"I assure you," Bruce drawled slowly, "he was quite comfortable. You have become familiar with the rooms, you should know."

"Uniform, but comfortable," Raven acknowledged. "You placed us far apart, though," she observed.

"Indeed I did," was all Bruce would say.

"Why?" Robin asked curiously, speaking for the first time.

"Were you afraid I'd get into trouble? Oh wait," she gestured to the slight rounding of her abdomen, "you're a little too late." Robin winced and Bruce glowered.

"My goal was to keep you out of further trouble."

"What further trouble? I'm already pregnant; I can't exactly get pregnant again. Well, I can, but it'll be awhile."

"I see, well, have a seat and we'll have a chat." Robin and Raven took a seat in the two chairs provided on one side of Bruce's desk. Bruce sat in his own, rather intimidating large backed chair. All three of them were silent. Finally Bruce spoke.

"What the HELL were you THINKING?" he exploded. Robin and Raven seemed to shrink into their seats. Even Raven was too startled to come up with a reply. "You two are SUPER HEROS! People like you DO NOT become PARENTS! Do you realize how DANGEROUS a situation you have created? And about making me a GRANDFATHER, do you realize just how WRONG that is?"

Roughly an hour and a half later Robin and Raven stumbled out of Bruce's office. "Jesus, I think my ears are ringing," Raven muttered as she rubbed her ears. "If this kid can hear, he or she will definitely recognize grandpa's voice now."

"It's a wonder that his voice never gave out," Robin remarked.

"He's got quite a set of lungs for someone of his age."

"I am not _that_ old," Bruce said as he appeared behind them.

"Old enough," Raven muttered, "to be a grandfather." It was unclear if Bruce had heard her as he did not respond.

"Well, it is growing quite late. Alfred will show you back to your rooms…and congratulations."

Robin and Raven, who had been following Alfred, hit the floor from shock. Bruce laughed and returned to his study, presumably to prepare for his "night job".

"That's it," Raven declared, "he's crazy." Robin simply nodded.

Once they were in their respective rooms, Robin attempted to settle down. There was only one problem. Every time he tried to lie on the bed, a large hole appeared and he fell through. He tried several different beds in several different rooms. Each time, the same thing happened.

Finally, Robin gave up. He groaned in frustration and settled in on a couch in one of the empty studies. A few moments later, Raven appeared at his side. He moved over to allow her some space and gave her a quizzical look.

"Well, I said you had to sleep on the couch. I never said you'd be sleeping alone," she murmured. Robin laughed softly and was glad the couch was wide enough for both of them.

"All right then, good-night."

The two slept peacefully through the night until Alfred brought coffee the next morning and triggered Raven's stomach.

* * *

Well, there is the end of chapter nine. Thank you all for being so patient and sticking with me through all of this. I'll have another chapter of this story up by Christmas as well as a chapter of Returning and, I hope, the first chapter of a new story. Well, thank you all again. I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time! Sora out. 


	10. Thanksgiving Day

Hello again, Sora here! I'm up earlier than I said I would be. This has to be points to me, right? Well, technically, the theme for this story is on the late side. It was meant to be a Thanksgiving gift, but oh well. I should be on time with my Christmas piece. Anyway, there's not much else for me to say save for my standards.

This is a Robin/Raven fiction. I accept and encourage everything except pairing flames. They are a nasty pet peeve of mine.

I don't own the Teen Titans, but I guess I'll be okay. Although, they're on my Christmas wish list. Hint hint. Anyway, on with the story. Here we go!

It had been just over two months since Robin and Raven paid their interesting visit to Bruce. The month had been fairly uneventful. Raven's morning sickness had finally subsided to the empath's mild delight. However, in its place, hormones had taken residence. In fact, both women were now known for sudden and unexpected mood swings. All of the men were steadily learning to tread upon eggshells. Unfortunately for them, they still seemed to step on land mines more often than not. Beastboy with an usually special frequency.

At any rate, the month of November was upon Jump City and with it, the season of Thanksgiving. Indeed, Robin awoke Thanksgiving morning to find Raven long absent from her side of the bed. After a momentary heart skip, he sat up and looked around. It was rare anymore for Raven to be up before him. Curious as to where the love of his life had gone, he climbed out of bed.

Robin walked over and opened the closet door. He groaned. No. Raven had not been kidnapped. No kidnapper, not even Slade, would be cruel enough, or have enough foresight to abscond with both his pregnant girlfriend and his favorite pair of training sweats. However, those very pants were missing. All he would have to do, though, was find Raven and he would find his clothes. They had spent good money buying maternity clothes for her, it was true, but she seemed much happier wearing his looser training clothes. Robin had considered talking to her about it, but he decided he wasn't completely suicidal. As he made his way out the bedroom door and toward the control room, he entertained a brief but wicked thought about making Beastboy talk to her about it. He chuckled lightly as he began his search.

On his first try, Robin hit pay dirt. He found both Starfire and Raven in the control room. Or, more specifically, in the kitchen. They appeared to be cooking. Suddenly, a green hand shot out and grabbed his upper arm. Mildly startled, Robin turned to see Cyborg and Beastboy cowering behind the couch. Both had a haunted look in their eyes and Cyborg was clutching the gamestation as though it were a security blanket. "Dude," Beastboy whispered softly but insistently, "don't do it."

"Don't do what?" Robin asked curiously in his normal tone of voice.

"Shhhh! Get down here!" Two pairs of hands reached out and dragged him down.

"What is going on?" Robin demanded.

"Shhhh!" the two hiding Titans hissed. Robin rolled his eyes.

"Okay," he whispered to humor them. "What is going on?"

"They're cooking," Cyborg replied in a hushed, terrified tone.

"So," Robin prompted. He wasn't awake enough to see the direction of the conversation.

"Dude! Hello!" Beastboy hissed. "They _can't_ cook! Remember Raven's pancakes?"

"Or any number of Star's pudding." Cyborg tacked on. Robin flinched; the point had been driven home.

"I'm sure," he said slowly, struggling to maintain loyalty to his girlfriend, "that they are following recipes and it will be better than last time."

"Don't count on it," Cyborg replied, puncturing Robin's feeble dream. "They fed Beastboy here some black stuff awhile back. It glued his teeth together for, like, an hour. I took a sample of it. Man, the labs came back saying there wasn't a trace of food in it." There was not an ounce of humor in Cyborg's face and Robin could feel himself paling.

Then he steeled his back. "Well," he said carefully, "be that as it may, I'm going to go see them anyway. I want to find out how Raven is feeling today."

"You are a brave man," Cyborg said gravely. Beastboy snorted.

"Dude, he's a stupid man," he muttered. "What are we going to do with two pregnant chicks and a poisoned leader?" Cyborg shrugged.

"I've only gotten as far as planning our own funerals," he replied.

"Dude, you've signed me up for the faux fur lined coffin, right?"

"Yeah, and your gravestone says 'Died a Hero, Died of Thanksgiving Food Poisoning'."

Robin rose and rolled his eyes at their dramatics. He left the two to their 'plans' and strode toward the kitchen.

Raven and Starfire were too wrapped up in their industry to notice him. So he took a moment to simply study them. Raven was trying to chop some vegetables. She wore a black headband to keep her hair out of her face. She was clothed in one of her modified black leotards and his gray sweatpants. She had outgrown her favorite belt, so she no longer wore it. Despite her casual appearance, Raven still looked pretty and elegant.

That thought drew Robin's eyes to Raven's midsection. Her flat, toned abdomen no longer existed. Instead, the empath was rounding with new life. The thought caused a small rush of affection for the sorceress to course through Robin.

Then his eyes shifted to Raven's workmate. Starfire was dressed in a light violet maternity top and white capris which seemed to complement her skin tone and hair, which was held back by a matching violet bow beautifully. She was stirring a pot cheerfully while her other hand rested atop her abdomen.

Over the past month, Starfire seemed to have suddenly ballooned up. Though she was only a month farther along than Raven, she seemed nearly twice the size of her best friend. She had assured them, though, that this was perfectly normal in Tamaranian pregnancies. Everyone pretty much accepted it with a raised eyebrow and slow nod.

Finally Raven took notice of him and beckoned Robin into the kitchen. He entered nervously. His conversation with Cyborg and Beastboy had not instilled in him much confidence. "Morning girls," he said, trying to remain calm.

"Morning," Raven answered succinctly. Her brow was furrowed in deep concentration as she tried to chop some celery. Starfire was a bit more exuberant.

"Good morning dearest friend!" she said cheerfully and stepped away from her pot to give him one of her traditional hugs. It was not to be though. The moment Starfire stopped stirring her concoction, something gelatinous and orange began slithering over the edge of the pot.

"Er, Star," Robin began and pointed toward the culinary nightmare. Starfire followed his gaze and frowned in displeasure. She hurried back to the stove.

"Not again. Get yourself back within the confines of this metal!" she commanded as she smacked her spoon upon what appeared to be a tentacle. Robin could feel sweat begin to trickle down his neck. He spied the pale faces of Cyborg and Beastboy poking over the couch and watching the situation in horror. Cyborg had graduated from clinging to the game station to sucking his thumb. Robin opted to apply a don't-ask-don't-tell policy to what he had just witnessed. He turned to his girlfriend.

"So, Rae, how are you feeling today?"

"Fine, thank you." She paused her work long enough to spare him a quick kiss.

"You guys seem busy today."

"Starfire thought it would be a good idea to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year. I agreed with her. As Earth holidays go, she thinks the only one better is Christmas."

"So, you're cooking all of Thanksgiving dinner?"

"Yes. Is there a problem with that, Richard?" Raven asked. Her eyes were flashing dangerously.

"Nothing!" Robin answered hastily. Raven probably would have grilled him further but Starfire spoke then.

"Friends, have you seen Cyborg or Beastboy? They have been missing for quite some time and I wish for them to take my latest dish."

"I haven't seen them," Robin answered promptly, lying through his teeth. Raven raised her eyebrow but said nothing. "What did you guys give him last time?"

"Sweet potatoes," Raven answered simply. Robin grimaced. He had never known something as innocent as sweet potatoes could become black, sticky and potentially deadly. Starfire's eyes then lit up as a well meaning idea struck her.

"Friend Robin!" Perhaps you would enjoy tasting my new dish, soft boiled glorkaroaches, a wonderful combination of my home world and this one."

Robin could feel the earlier trickle of sweat become a small flood. He began backing out of the kitchen rapidly. "Err, thanks Star, but…I was just leaving. I have to go grocery shopping and, um, Christmas shopping." Cyborg and Beastboy appeared at his side from out of nowhere.

"We're going too!" they said quickly.

"You know, mans day out," Cyborg explained.

The two promised to be home in time for dinner as they carried their excuse for freedom (Robin) out the door.

Finally, dinner time rolled around and the boys were forced to reluctantly return home. (Beastboy left claw marks in the pavement as Robin and Cyborg dragged him back to the T-Car).

When they arrived at the tower, they found the formal dining table had been pulled out and set. Starfire and Raven were setting out the food and waiting patiently for them.

When everyone was seated, Beastboy reached for a white, fluffy substance sitting in a purple bowl. "Mmm," he murmured happily, "something familiar." He loaded large globs of it onto his plate and began eating it rapidly. Starfire stood up abruptly.

"Oh, Raven, we have forgotten the turkey and the potatoes of mash! Please come with me to retrieve them." Beastboy with his spoon halfway to his mouth.

"These aren't potatoes?" he squeaked.

"No, they are still in the kitchen," Starfire replied.

"Then what the hell are these?" he demanded. Starfire tilted her head and identified what he was eating.

"Whipped mucopolese, an insect native to my home planet." Beastboy turned a mint green and toppled from his chair. Meanwhile, Cyborg was staring at his plate. A bowl was placed upside-down upon it he could have sworn it rattled.

"Er, Star, before you go, what's this?" he asked.

"My glorkaroaches," she answered. "Once you uncover them, you must eat them quickly, or they shall crawl away from you." Then she walked into the kitchen.

"Crawl?" Raven asked incredulously. "Starfire, you promised nothing would be alive for this meal."

"Does that include the guests?" Cyborg muttered to himself, still watching his plate warily.

"They are not alive," Starfire called back. They can merely move for up to twelve hours after death. I hear your common earth chicken is similar, though they move for a much shorter period of time." Robin blanched at the mental image. Raven didn't look very pleased, nor did she look like her stomach was feeling settled.

Then, Starfire arrived carrying purple potatoes and a raw turkey. Robin watched in horrified disgust. "Err, did you guys cook the bird at all?" he asked. Raven frowned deeply.

"Shit, I knew we forgot something." Starfire looked sorrowful. She hated seeing her friends upset. She wracked her brain for a quick solution.

"Please, do not frown. I can fix it!" A starbolt lit up her hand. However, in her excitement to fix the problem, she overpowered her bolt of energy. There was a spectacular explosion.

When the dust finally cleared, Beastboy was still comatose on the floor, Robin was still watching in horrified, and silent, fascination, Cyborg was trying to catch his glorkaroach, which had managed to get away despite the bowl, and Starfire and Raven were watching the ash-like remnants of the turkey snow down upon them. Starfire released a small sob and both women fled the room. Robin frowned.

"You two, try to comfort Star. I'll take Raven. Err, Titans go."

Robin found Raven in their room curled up on the bed. Her shoulders shook, giving away exactly what she was feeling. However, the black floating objects were doing a pretty good job of telling him as well. "Hey," he said quietly, sliding in next to her. Raven was silent save for shaky breathing. "The meal wasn't so bad, if that's what's bothering you."

"Yes, it was," Raven answered morosely. "How am I supposed to be a parent, if I can't even cook?" Robin rubbed her back.

"Have you ever cooked before, were you ever taught?" he asked patiently. Raven shook her head.

"It wasn't exactly an emphasis between unstable powers and the whole being-the-damnation-of-the-earth thing," she answered.

"Well, there you go. You just need to learn, and you'll be fine."

"And who exactly is going to teach me? Mr. Tofu-is-my-life or Mrs. Eat-your-glorkaroaches-before-they-crawl-away?"

"How about someone a bit closer?" Robin asked.

"_You_ can cook?" Raven asked incredulously.

"Yes. Why?"

"Well, it's not like you've ever given us an inkling of your vast culinary talents," Raven returned.

"Ah, well, yeah. Alfred wouldn't let me leave the house until I proved I could feed myself."

"You haven't exactly done so great so far. Do the blue fuzzies in the fridge ring a bell?" Robin shrugged.

"Pizza has gotten us fed just as well."

"A home cooked meal would have been nice too. You will suffer for holding out on us," Raven warned him. Robin laughed softly.

"How about I make it up to you today? I'll teach you how to make something simple. Does spaghetti sound good?" he asked.

"Sounds good enough," Raven answered. Robin helped her stand up and they wandered back to the kitchen. There, Cyborg and Beastboy waited for them.

"Well," Cyborg said quietly, "we couldn't coax Star out of her room. She's really upset." Raven's eyes widened slightly as she remembered something.

"Here, try this." She fished a letter out of the pocket of the sweatpants. "It's a letter from Speedy. We got it this morning. I was going to surprise her with it at dinner." The two boys took the letter and went to try again.

When everyone had finally re-congregated in the kitchen, the rest of the evening was spent teaching the two women how to cook and how to cook using earth customs. As Robin watched everyone carrying out the small tasks to make the simple meal, he drew his girlfriend very close and silently thanked whatever higher power had granted him this family.

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you all have something or someone to be thankful for this year; I know I do. Well, this is the end of chapter 10. It's a bit longer than my usual chapters. Once again, I want to thank everyone who has stuck with me thus far. I really appreciate you. Happy holidays and I'll see you at Christmastime (which is only 12 days away, so no worries). Until next time! Sora out.


	11. On the First Day of Christmas

Hello all, Sora here! I'm back as promised with the first installment of my Christmas chapters! Christmas day will bring you the second piece. I'd like to take a moment to say I did proof read this I'm pretty sure I caught all of the mistakes. Let me know if I didn't and I'll do my best to fix it. I'll appreciate anything you say.Other than that, there isn't much for me to say this time around except to say thank you to those who have been with me from the very beginning and have been so kind and supportive. I wish Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you.

This is, of course, a Rob/Rae story and I enjoy it that way. I will accept everything except pairing flames. Thank you!

Anyway, with nothing else to say, let's get on with the story! Here we go!

* * *

It had been nearly three weeks since the Thanksgiving fiasco. Thankfully, the culinary nightmare created by Starfire and Raven had all but passed from mind. The only thing keeping its memory lingering were Robin's ongoing cooking lessons. However, Robin was beginning to notice that Raven was skipping more and more of her lessons. Actually, she had been unusually withdrawn from everyone. She was spending more time locked up in a most unlikely room: the tower arboretum. Though Raven had assured him multiple times that she was okay and that she was up to nothing major, Robin still wondered what she was up to. 

Raven, for her part, wasn't telling anyone. It had become her custom to rise slightly before dawn cracked and creep up to the arboretum. There, she locked herself in for hours to do research. She would only come out for meals.

On one such morning, Raven paused in her reading and looked around. The arboretum was becoming rather cluttered, she noticed. The room had once been full of pretty, exotic and sometimes dangerous plants and nothing more. Now, wherever there weren't flowers and bushes, there were piles of books, papers, and various test subjects. Raven was fairly glad that the Titans didn't know what she was up to. What they saw would only create more questions than answers.

Raven supposed she felt slightly guilty about keeping her secret. Despite what she had told Robin, she was undertaking something slightly monumental. On the other hand, the end result would be their Christmas present of a lifetime, so she felt justified in lying to them about this. Raven only hoped they would feel the same way. Azar knew, she was having some mixed emotions about her project.

She sighed and tried to shake the thoughts from her mind. They weren't getting her anywhere. "Worse comes to worst, everyone will get furious at me and…I'll get kicked out of the tower." Raven buried her head in her hand and groaned. "_Not_ helping."

With another shake of her head, Raven placed her worries aside for the moment and refocused on her main tasks: finding or creating the necessary spell and keeping Cyborg and Beastboy, the resident crime-fighters-come-Christmas-snoops of the tower from finding out. She had come to find that they were nothing if not persistent when it came to finding out what she was doing. They made Robin's obsessions seem mild.

Normally, it would have been only a minor annoyance, rectified by a dark protective aura. However, in her current condition, just over four months pregnant and very distracted by constant cravings for strange foods, taking care of the two nuisances was more than slightly difficult. Raven sighed in mild aggravation. If they kept at it, she was going to need more string.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the recesses of the tower, Beastboy and Cyborg were holding a conference of some sort.

"Okay," Cyborg said slowly, laying a stack of papers in the middle of the table, "let's review the facts."

"Right," Beastboy replied, looking oddly attentive. He had yet to realize that his fellow Titans had been slipping him ADHD medication through his tofu. The strange food finally had a use!

"Raven has been locked in the arboretum for several days now," Cyborg listed.

"Yup," Beastboy confirmed. "Dude, I've barely seen anything of her recently."

"That's probably for the best," Cyborg muttered. "It's what's keeping you alive."

"Dude!" Beastboy protested.

"Moving on," Cyborg said. "So, we can safely say Raven does not want us to know what she's doing."

"No kidding."

"But she's definitely up to something."

"I'd bet my Mega Monkeys Trilogy on it," Beastboy answered firmly.

"However," Cyborg continued, "we're pretty sure it has nothing to do with your theory on summoning evil monkey love goddesses to enslave mankind, but it's still something major."

"I dunno, dude, I still think she wants to rule the world through the monkey love goddesses." Cyborg shook his head in resignation. Some things were never going to change. He made a note to increase Beastboy's prescription and looked back down at his notes.

"Finally, we know that Raven cannot use her magic at this time."

"Right, for the safety of my future godson or daughter."

"Excuse me, green boy? What makes you think she'll choose you?"

"Because I can make her laugh," Beastboy answered simply. Cyborg gave him an incredulous look.

"On what planet? 'Cause I know you're not talking about this one!"

"Oh yeah, and why would she name you godfather?" Beastboy challenged.

"Because we have a very close sibling-like relationship," Cyborg replied.

"You obsess to her about cars!" Beastboy exclaimed

"She helps me fix my baby," Cyborg defended.

"So, you're going to drag her kid under the car with you now?"

"Better than dropping it on its head, and that's probably what you would do!"

"Well, you'd just scare the kid! What with your metal face and all!"

"What! Say that again you little green whelp. You're ass is mine!"

The two spent roughly ten minutes fighting it out and chasing each other about. Finally Cyborg cooled down. He pinched the bridge of his nose and snagged Beastboy by his collar. "Wait, wait. We're getting off track here. This is what Raven would want us to do."

"Dude! You're right! Is she controlling us with her strange mystical loopy mind powers?" he asked. Cyborg rolled his eyes.

"Somehow, I think she has bigger things on her mind."

"Oh yeah!" Beastboy cried, brightening. "We have to figure out what Raven is doing!"

"Yes," Cyborg said slowly, "now you're catching on. So, to continue. We were discussing the fact that Raven is currently not allowed to use her magic."

"She still gets cranky at Robin about that sometimes," Beastboy added helpfully. "Remember when he snapped at her and she pitched him out the window, let him freefall and snatched him up _just_ before the rocks? Dude that was soooo awesome! She was like 'Rrrgh' and he was like 'ahhhhhhhh!' and then they made up and it was…eeew."

"Yes. I remember. That was a stressful day." Suddenly Beastboy's eyes came into focus.

"You know, I just remembered. Raven's inability to use magic hasn't exactly stopped her from, well, stopping us."

"Exactly!" Cyborg said. "We're dealing with a being that is superior in intelligence to you."

"Right, superior to us- hey, wait a minute! Dude! Not cool!"

"Either way," Cyborg hurried on, before they fought again, "we have been stopped time and time again."

"I know. A frontal attack didn't work. We got caught in all that string. Raven didn't let us down until we sang a "pee song."" Beastboy shuddered. "That was not cool."

"An air attack didn't work either."

"Hey, who would have known she slathered the window with glorkaberries and would sic Silkie on us?" This time it was Cyborg who cringed.

"Man, I saw parts of that insect I _never_ wanted to see!"

"Tunneling under didn't work either. I wish you had read those blueprints better. I mean, you created the place. You should know it like the back of your hand, dude." Cyborg became defensive.

"Hey! There was only a small percentage of a chance that Starfire would be in that bathroom at that moment!"

"Dude, that doesn't matter! She was in there and she got _mad_! Remember, we were blasted through at least three walls. I haven't felt that kind of pain since the mall fiasco!"

"Well, I say we try a whole new approach this time," Cyborg said.

"I'm all ears," Beastboy answered eagerly.

"We're going to go and knock on the door." Cyborg told him. Beastboy sagged noticeably.

"Dude, that's it? _I_ could have thought that!"

"There's more. Just be patient," Cyborg snapped. "You're going to go knock on the door and distract her while I try and look past her and see what she's doing."

"That's pretty pathetic…even for us." Beastboy said flatly. Cyborg could feel sweat trickle down his human skin.

"Maybe, but it's what we have until I can think of something better. Let's go." The two set off toward the arboretum.

By early evening, Raven had finally found a spell she thought would be suitable. She had experimented what felt like hundreds of times, but all of the tests had been successful. A nearly grim look had settled onto her face. She wasn't unhappy, just nervous. It was nearly time to go.

At that moment, there was a rap on the door. Raven looked up from her particularly large, leather bound book. The knock was distinctly metal on metal. She sighed. Beastboy and Cyborg were at it again. Raven shuffled some her items toward a tree and out of sight before rising to answer them. Perhaps it was a good time to send them to another dimension, at least until Christmas morning. Her thoughts distracted her from finishing her cleanup.

Beastboy and Cyborg waited excitedly on the other side of the door. Despite how pathetic the plan was, they were willing to give it all to make it work. The door cracked open and briefly they saw Raven's pale face and purple eyes. It didn't last long though. Suddenly, a large flock of angry birds flew out of the room and began attacking them. The two men began screaming and they raced down the hall. The birds pursued them.

Raven stood in their wake, shock lingering in her widened eyes. She truly hadn't expected that to happen. However, she supposed she would be asking for it. When she had begun experimenting, Raven hadn't thought far enough ahead so she would know what to do with the birds she had created. Then Raven snorted. It had worked out okay though, they were asking for it. She closed the door and returned to her solitude.

Eventually, Cyborg and Beastboy escaped the birds by ducking into the evidence room. They stared at each other and panted for a few long moments. When they regained their breath, they each let out their own thoughts on what had just transpired.

"What the…"

"Dude!"

"I think," Cyborg said, "we can add something new to our facts. Whatever she's doing involved lots and lots of angry birds. Do we still want to know what she's doing?" Anyone who knew them knew that answer as quickly as the question was asked.

Finally, night fell on Jump City and everyone began to settle down. Starfire had gone to bed early. She had been feeling rather tired. Cyborg and Beastboy had taken up their gamestation, feeling one failed attempt to scope out Raven was enough for one day. Robin and Raven were curled up on the couch watching a Christmas special that was playing. There just wasn't much else to do. Robin noticed that Raven was acting restless. "Rae, you okay?" he asked quietly.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Anything you'd like to share? You know I'm always there for you." Raven hugged him briefly but tightly.

"Thanks, Robin, but not right now. I think I have to work this out a little bit more before I'm ready to tell anyone."

"I'm here whenever you're ready. I'm going to head in to train for awhile. You know where to find me." He kissed her forehead and took his leave.

Raven glanced around the room. With Robin and Starfire elsewhere and Cyborg and Beastboy completely distracted, it was the perfect time to leave. She discreetly slid on her cloak and slid toward the elevator.

December in Jump City had always been mild, and that night was no exception. Raven was glad for it. She had quite a way to walk. She would have just transported herself there, but she needed to save up the energy. Her undertaking would be exhausting. Raven felt around her cloak pocket for the motorboat keys she had swiped off Cyborg to get her across the bay. She took another deep breath and set out.

It had taken nearly two hours but she had made it. Terra's cave, as they affectionately called the opening to their friend's gravesite, looked much the same as it always had. Someone, most likely Beastboy, had taken the time to set up a small Christmas tree by the entrance and decorate it. Some Christmas boughs hung around the opening as well. It looked both festive and depressing. "I am insane," Raven muttered as she entered.

As she walked down the long entranceway, Raven could feel her resolve faltering. She wasn't sure if she could do it, or even if she wanted to do it. After everything that had happened, was she willing to forgive all of it?

Her uncertainty dissolved as the geomancer came into view. Beastboy had not neglected to see to the interior. There were some Christmas lights hung up, and a gift and some flowers lay at Terra's feet. Her plaque, calling her a Teen Titan and a true friend, was freshly polished. It had been well taken care of.

"All right," she said to the statue, "you win. You and Beastboy win, I guess." Raven sat down in her lotus position and opened the book she brought with her. "I hope this works…otherwise you're a bird for the rest of your days. I wonder if Beastboy would mind keeping you in a cage." It was a morbidly amusing thought and Raven sought to strike it from her mind. It wasn't the time for it.

She began her chant. Energy began flowing around her. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos…" the rest of the spell was difficult and new to her, but as far as she could tell, it was working. Terra was beginning to glow as well.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and Raven felt completely drained. For a moment, she couldn't see anything, but when her vision cleared, she found Terra slumped at her feet, gasping for air. Raven slumped down next to her with a wide-eyed look. Terra was well and truly alive.

* * *

Well, that's chapter eleven for you. You probably noticed I spent more time on Cyborg and Beastboy. I felt I had been neglecting them a little. Not to mention, I needed to practice with their characters. I rather dislike out of character stories. I suppose that's a little hypocritical because I'm not exactly great at it myself, but I'm trying so bear with me. Anyway, I'd better wrap up here. I've got cinnamon rolls to make. However, before I go, there are some people I would like to thank by name: 

**Chica De Los Ojos Café**

**Calda Pesca492**

**Enkaiame Katana**

**Cherished18**

**Tecna**

**MyChemSweetie**

**Cherry Jade**

Most of you have been with me from the start and encouraging me all of the way. Words cannot honestly describe how thankful I am for you. I wish you fondest Holiday joys and wishes. Until next time! Sora out.


	12. Physical Therapy

Hi everyone, Sora here. I apologize for not having this segment up on Christmas day; a power outage sort of slowed me down. I've only just gotten it back. One idiot drives into an electric pole and bam no power. He wasn't hurt, thankfully, but still, no power and no computer. However, I am here now with chapter twelve. I hope you all enjoy it. Except for the fact that I don't own Teen Titans, I don't have anything to say so let's get on with the story. Here we go!

* * *

Air was moving through her lungs, she could feel it. In fact, Terra could feel everything. It wasn't supposed to be, though. She wasn't supposed to be alive.

A weary hand placed itself on her back. Terra flung herself around and tried to identify whoever touched her. It was no use. Her eyes could only make out vague shapes and colors. She then tried to ask who was there, but only incomprehensible grunts came out. Terra began to panic. She was alive, but nothing was working. She was helpless.

In an attempt to move away from the unidentifiable person, Terra tried to stand on legs which had little more consistency than jelly. She collapsed in on herself and grunted out a crackling steam of obscenities.

"Well, that obviously didn't work," a voice told her dully. Terra grunted at the person.

"Glurgh,"

"Well, I can see your eyes aren't working. I am in no way a female dog." Terra's eyes widened. This person could understand her. She tried to crawl away, fearing another Slade situation.

"Stay still, you're hardly in any condition to go anywhere by yourself."

"Ugh."

"You're dehydrated and your body is still readjusting to its reanimation," the voice told her in a clinical fashion. Terra could do nothing but nod faintly. The voice came again, but it was softer.

"I'm not here to hurt you, I'm not Slade. You need help now, will you let me?" Terra could feel resignation and exhaustion creeping up on her. She really had no choice.

"Ngh," she acquiesced and the person moved to pick her up.

"I'm not very strong right now, you'll need to help me any way you can." Terra yawned in response. "That means," the person continued dryly, "you can't fall asleep on me. You're dead enough weight as it is."

"Nurgh gnh."

"I am not calling you fat, just dead weight," the speaker informed her. Terra grunted again and they began moving. She could only imagine what they looked like, moving as a slow haphazard unit.

Raven was glad when she finally got Terra's cooperation. It had been hard going because she had revealed so little to the blonde. However, she felt it was in their best interest if she didn't introduce herself quite yet. It would only open up Terra's flood gates of guilt that much faster. She needed time to recuperate before she indulged in something as destructive as guilt.

Also, Raven knew she had never been much of a comforting person. That had always been the job of the sweet Tamaranian. So she would be essentially useless if the poor girl had a breakdown on the way back to the tower. Raven could help her physically and medically, but it would take time and the rest of the Titans to help Terra mentally.

She looked down at the geomancer again and felt a sharp twang of pity. Terra was coated in sweat, her hair was stringy and her complexion was sallow. All in all, she was an exhausted mess of a girl. "It's not much farther," Raven said slowly. "We just have to get out of this cave. From there, I think I can call a cab." Terra remained silent; her mind was focused on trying to stumble along.

Eventually, the two managed to get their way out of Terra's former resting place and into a cab that came along a half hour later. On the car ride home, Raven worried about how she was going to get Terra to the medical room without anyone noticing. She glanced down to where the blonde was sleeping…and drooling on her leg. Terra was hardly in any condition to sneak herself into the tower, and Raven was still drained by the amount of energy she had used. "How would you like to hide in a bag for awhile," she mused to her sleeping partner. Terra's only response was to keep drooling. "Yggh," Raven muttered.

Finally, it was time to stop worrying and start acting. The cab had arrived at the bay and Raven took them across in Cyborg's boat. They were on the front steps of the tower. "Okay," Raven murmured to herself, "I have a 100 pound teenager on my back, I'm pregnant and I have to get from her to six floors up without being seen…yeah, easy."

She stood and thought for a few more moments before an idea struck her. She entered her code and slipped in the door.

Once inside, Raven set Terra down on the floor and quietly called out for Silkie to come. She hoped the bugs hearing was sharp enough to hear her. After a few moments of waiting, Raven felt a large amount of relief flow through her. Silkie slid through the doorway and gazed up at her. She felt a little silly, she was speaking to a bug after all, but she was sure he could understand.

"Okay, Silkie, here's what I need you to do. I'm going to put Terra in this sack here and you're going to drag her up to the medical room. I'll keep people from getting too curious. You do this and I'll give you a lot of glorka berries." Silkie chirped excitedly and prepared to haul Terra. Unfortunately, he didn't understand completely because he was preparing to take her by the head. "No, Silkie, no. I'm going to put her in the bag. You don't eat her and carry her!" Raven grunted as she pried the small pet off Terra. She looked down at the job Silkie had done on the blonde. Drool seemed to be the motif of the night. Raven shuddered. "She's really going to need a bath now."

Eventually, Raven got Silkie to understand what she wanted the two began making their way to the elevator. By the time the elevator reached the fifth floor, Raven was beginning to think she was home free. Apparently, though, the higher powers didn't agree. The elevator completely stopped on the fifth floor and the doors opened to reveal Robin.

"Raven, there you are. I've been looking all over for you. Are you okay?" He didn't really give her a chance to answer as he began inspecting her for any signs of being unwell. Raven gently put her hand on his shoulder and moved him back so she could look him in the eye.

"I'm fine, don't worry. I just went out for a late walk," she assured him.

"It's nearly two in the morning!" Raven felt a little startled. She hadn't realized that it had gotten so late.

"I'm sorry," she told him, swallowing her independent nature and pride. "I didn't mean to worry you. I just really needed to clear my mind."

"Your head has been busy lately. Are you sure you're okay?"

"There's just been a lot to think about."

"Are you going to tell me anytime soon?" he asked. Raven could feel his worry and impatience wash over her. She cracked a small smile for him.

"I'll make a deal with you. If I don't tell you be midnight on Christmas day, you can do whatever you see fit to work it out of me."

"Is that a promise?"

"Pervert," Raven muttered. "I am pregnant now, you know." Robin grinned.

"Good, I won't have to worry about getting you pregnant then."

"Ach, and here I thought I had finally trained you out of that," Raven deadpanned. Robin only gave her an amused smile and a small half shrug.

"Eh, you know how it goes. Venus and Mars and whatnot."

"Yes, but you keep forgetting that I really can send you to Mars if I did so desire," she informed him.

"You'd miss me too much," he answered cockily.

"You'd better be really sure of that," Raven warned. His reply was to give her a sweet kiss.

"You're saying you'd miss that?" he asked. Raven gave him a mock glare.

"You win for now, but don't get used to it." Robin only laughed and brought her into an embrace.

The tender moment was broken when Terra chose to grunt in her sleep and roll over into Robin's leg, taking Silkie with her. Robin gazed down at the strange sight. "Um, Raven?" he asked.

"Um, I picked a few things up at the store while I was out."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but most grocery store items do not tend to roll over and…why is Silkie dragging it upstairs."

"I'm feeling tired and I promised him glorka berries."

"Okay, that explains Silkie's involvement, but why are your groceries rolling over?" Raven had to think fast.

"I…picked up a dog."

"Excuse me?"

"For Beastboy," Raven continued. "You know, all the books say you should keep two dogs at home so they entertain each other and bug you less."

"That's pretty cold, referring to Beastboy as a dog."

"He runs around as one constantly," Raven returned. "What's so cold about that?" Robin was at a loss for words. She made a good point.

"Anyway," she went on, "it's Beastboy's Christmas present. Don't you think a dog would be nice?" Actually Raven didn't care much for loud or hyper animals, so Robin was beginning to wonder.

"Raven, I'm beginning to worry about what these gestational hormones are doing to you." This earned him a smack in the head. "Ow!"

"Quit worrying. Maybe I'm just having a change of heart." Robin raised his eyebrow. Raven glared at him. "Do you want to challenge that statement?" He wisely chose to stay silent and Raven subsided as well. "Listen, I'm just going to drop this in the med room and I'll be to bed shortly."

"Why the med room?" Robin asked.

"It'll make the most sense. I'm going to keep the gifts in there and post a sign about mandatory flu shots. It should keep Beastboy and Cyborg out of there for a good long time. Robin laughed again.

"You know, I think you get more and more devious with each passing Christmas." Raven shrugged.

"You know how they are," she answered simply.

Robin seemed to buy her story about the dog and allowed Raven to get off on the sixth floor without following. For her part she promised to be in bed before the hour was out.

Once the elevator doors were closed, Raven slumped against a wall and let out a short breath. "Men are too damn inquisitive." She was relieved that he hadn't found out and ruined the surprise. "Well, come on, Silkie, we have to get her to bed."

Raven arranged Terra very carefully on the medical bed, making sure the blonde would be fairly comfortable. She placed a note in her hand warning that if she were to wake, she wasn't to go anywhere. Then she hooked up a small IV to give Terra some liquids and nutrients to help with the dehydration and lack of food. She figured it would be a couple of days before the geomancer could hold down any semblance of solid food.

Once she was done tending to Terra, Raven picked up Silkie, promising him glorka berries in the morning and left the room. She made sure to lock the door from both the inside and the outside and left her pleasant little warning for Beastboy.

Finally, she set Silkie back inside Starfire's room and made to crawl into her own bed next to Robin. Raven was looking forward to it. She was tired and it was beginning to get cold. She knew, though, she could steal some of Robin's body heat once she snuggled up to him.

The next morning Raven rolled over and found Robin gone from the bed. She opened her eyes and glanced at the clock. It was nearly noon. She had really overslept! Groggily, Raven crawled out of bed and donned her robe. "I need tea," she muttered to herself, knowing full well that it would have to wait. Terra needed her first.

As it turned out, Terra was still sound asleep when she arrived. Raven drew close to the sleeping girl and was assaulted by a most nauseating scent. It was emanating from Terra. Raven wrinkled her nose. "Ngh, bath time. There's no avoiding it."

Carefully, she lifted Terra into a sitting position and removed the IV. Terra grunted and opened her eyes. Raven could tell right off the bat that the blonde could still see nothing. However, her mouth seemed less numb.

"Wha?" Terra grunted. Raven tried to sound comforting, but it still wasn't her thing.

"Just relax. You're in a medical facility, and I'm taking you to get a bath. You smell terrible."

"I feel terrible," Terra breathed out. "I think it's a set." Raven smirked. Terra hadn't lost her sense of humor.

"I suppose it is. Come on then. How well can you move?"

"I think this is about it. Who are you anyway?" Raven hesitated.

"Do you really want to know?" she asked worriedly. Terra nodded slowly.

"Terra, you're in Titan's tower. I'm Raven."

"No," Terra squeaked before her voice failed her.

"Um, please don't freak out," Raven said slowly.

"How can I be here?"

"I brought you back," she answered plainly.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to wrap you up in green wrapping paper and give you to Beastboy. Why else?" Terra gave her a very strange look.

"Excuse me?"

"Listen, it's Christmas, or close to it. I found the spell and brought you back. We'll explain the emotional stuff when my hormones aren't raging and you're in a clearer mind…and perhaps when we have Starfire."

Terra appeared to have stopped listening at the word hormones. She quirked a strange look. "Wait a minute, hormones? The famous Raven has hormones?"

"Clearly your eyes aren't with you yet," Raven said dryly. She sighed, "You'll understand when you can see."

"I don't get it," Terra replied.

"Trust me. You will. Come on, you still have to get a bath."

"You're going to bathe me?" Terra asked incredulously. Raven rolled her eyes.

"No," she answered flatly, "I figured I'd just strip you down and leave you to the boys."

"Errrr, um."

"For pity's sake, yes, I'm going to try and clean you. Now either hold still or help me take your shirt off."

"That sounds so wrong."

"My boyfriend would be so turned on," Raven deadpanned.

"Whoa! Did I miss something."

"I keep repeating myself here. You will understand when you can see. But yes, you have missed more than you can imagine. Now shirt off." Having only regained her voice, Terra could only lie still as Raven undressed her as privately and discreetly as possible.

The whole process took roughly a half hour, but they were finally in the med room's bathroom with Terra soaking in a tub. Raven had to hold her head above the water, which caused a small problem when Robin walked into the main part of the facility. "Raven, you in here?" he asked. Startled, Raven dropped Terra who sank like a, no pun intended, rock.

"Yes. I'm here. What do you need?"

"Well, according to Beastboy, you've been holed up in here since you woke up."

"Is that a problem?" Raven asked. Beneath her, the water bubbled and Terra tried to get her attention.

"Is something wrong? Why are you in here?"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just enjoying the, um, new Jacuzzi tub Cyborg installed. It feels good on my back." Terra bubbled again.

"Do you want a massage?" It was not meant to be a lewd question. Merely the offering of comfort.

"No, I'm okay. I just want to lie here and relax for awhile."

"Okay, enjoy yourself. Come find me when you're done."

"Do you need something?" Beneath the water Terra was starting to turn blue.

"No, I just haven't seen you much. I just want to spend some time with you before you vanish again." Raven felt slightly guilty. She had been neglecting everyone recently, especially Robin, who she was only seeing before she fell asleep. She would have to make it up to him.

"Alright. I'll be out shortly and we'll do something. Quietly though?"

"Sure." Raven waited until Robin had left the room and she heard the distinctive click of the door locking into place. Then she looked down.

"Shit." She reaching quickly to pull out a sputtering and gasping Terra.

"Gasp, you're trying to, pant, kill me aren't you, pant."

"No, I just got momentarily distracted." Raven had the good grace to sound at least a little sheepish.

"What in heaven's name distracted you enough to try and drown me."

"If you must know, my boyfriend nearly walked in on this most bizarre bathing session."

"That could have been awkward. Who is your boyfriend anyway? Beastboy?" Terra asked, suddenly quiet. "He always was fond of you."

"For one thing, I'm not sure Beastboy is my type. It would be a dangerous relationship…for him. I threw him off the tower just two days ago. Granted I caught him, but still, I was the one who pitched him off. I threw Robin off too, but he was a lot more understanding. Anyway, Beastboy may be fond of me, but you still have his heart."

Terra was silent for a moment and Raven spoke again. "For the record, that was my soft and gentle moment for the day, and I think bath time is done for today."

"Thank god, you're the worst nurse imaginable."

"I got you out of the water, be happy about that." Terra grumbled something derisive under her breath and was fairly sure the jab from reinserting the IV wasn't as gentle as it could have been.

"You may as well rest now. I'll be back this evening to make sure you're still alive."

"That's it? All I can do is sleep? What if I get bored?" Raven tossed a portable CD player at the blonde.

"Then listen to this. It's the complete works of Edgar Allen Poe. Bye." Raven closed the door and Terra made a face.

"Poe…how uplifting."

While Terra was debating her Poe problems, Raven made her way to the roof for some quiet meditation. However, what she found was something quite different. A small portion of the roof had been decorated with a large blanket, some candles and a bin of food. It was definitely Robin's handiwork, she recognized it anywhere. "What is this?" she asked looking around. Robin was nowhere in sight.

"A boyfriend isn't allowed to surprise the love of his life?" A voice asked from behind her as two arms came to rest at her waist. Raven allowed a small smile.

"I suppose he could. It looks wonderful."

"I haven't seen much of you lately. I thought it might be nice to enjoy a quiet evening together."

"I can't argue with that." In a rare show of affection, Raven leaned over and kissed Robin. "Thank you."

The rest of the evening was spent munching on the various items in the bin and discussing plans and their child.

* * *

Well, that's it for chapter twelve. I realize it's I promised the conclusion in this chapter, but by the time the chapter hit sixteen pages, I chose to break it up and place the conclusion in chapter thirteen. This, of course, explains why I'm putting up two chapters in one day. Until next time! Sora out. 


	13. Sharing a Christmas Gift

Hello once more. Sora here and I have chapter thirteen. This is the conclusion to my Christmas theme. I hope no one is disappointed with it. I do not own Teen Titans. Well, let's get on with the story. Here we go!

It took about three days of intensive rest and intravenous feeding before Terra began to feel like herself again. It was the morning of the third day when she woke to find her vision finally clearing. It was also the first morning she got a good long look at Raven. There was something very different about the sorceress.

"Holy flying shit you're pregnant!"

"Ah, you're eyes are clearing up now," Raven said in response to Terra's less-than-intellectual remark.

"This has to be one colossal joke on me," Terra said, her voice breathy from surprise.

"No, no joke. I'm quite pregnant and this is all quite real."

"You weren't kidding when you said I'd missed a lot."

"This isn't even half of the changes you will find around here." Terra slowly brought a hand to her forehead.

"Please, one shock at a time. I think my brain will explode otherwise. It's still having trouble wrapping itself around _this_."

"Then Christmas morning will be quite messy, and disappointing. I did not go through all that work just so your brain could end up all over the living room wall."

"This still begs the question of why you brought me back at all."

"Would you believe that I missed you?" Raven asked. Terra raised an eyebrow.

"It's not first on my list of things to believe," she answered.

"You're not a horrible person, Terra. You did some terrible things, granted, but you redeemed yourself in the end. A person of evil does not sacrifice their life for the good of others."

"It's still hard," Terra told her. "You can't understand the guilt."

"Believe me," Raven answered flatly, "I can."

"How?"

"I ended the world."

"Um, run that by me again?"

"I became a portal for a powerful demon that essentially ended the world. Everyone, with the exception of the Titans, was turned to stone."

"Um, not that I'm saying you're a liar or anything but…"

"The world is still quite functional," Raven finished for her.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"I overcame my father. I can't say it was a big fight to the finish or a flashy ordeal, that part belongs mostly to Starfire, Beastboy and Cyborg. I spent most of that time in a body about one third of this height and age."

"One of these days you'll have to tell me the whole story. It sounds pretty interesting."

"Ask Robin, he can tell the story better." A small smile tugged at Raven's lips. Terra paused thoughtfully for a moment.

"Speaking of Robin, where was he? You mentioned that Cyborg, Beastboy and Starfire were fighting you were a child but what about him?"

"He went into hell with Slade." Terra looked absolutely floored.

"BWHA?"

"Like I said, have him tell the story. I don't much like to talk about it anyway. Now, it's time for your physical therapy. I'd like to tackle walking today and then you're going to need another bath. For a girl who's completely inactive, you sure smell."

"Bite me therapy Nazi," was all Terra said.

"Don't tempt me; I haven't had my tea yet." The rest of the session was spent barbing each other in fairly good nature and working on Terra's legs. The way she was going, Raven thought, she would be ready to meet everyone else by Christmas day.

And Raven was right. Beastboy woke everyone bright and early on Christmas morning, startling poor Starfire who was quite contrite after she accidentally blasted him through her wall, and dragged them downstairs. While everyone was milling around the Christmas tree or preparing breakfast, Raven crept into the med room.

Terra was already wide awake and moving around on still slightly unsteady legs. When she caught sight of Raven watching her with interest, she spoke. "Beastboy's yelling woke me up. Merry Christmas by the way. You look nice."

Raven looked down at herself. At Robin's insistence, everyone had dressed up for Titan's East was coming over for a holiday party later that morning. Raven herself was dressed in a fairly simple outfit with a stretchy purple velvet short-sleeved top and a long black skirt of similar fabric and design. Her hair was taken into a simple knot at the nape of her neck. "Um, thanks. Actually, that's why I'm here. We have to get you dressed and ready for the party." Terra looked pale.

"Already? I'm not sure I'm ready yet."

"You've had two weeks. You're about as ready as you'll ever get."

"I'm really not sure about this."

"Neither am I," Raven answered, "but we're still going to do this."

"You're not going to give me any choice are you." It was more of a statement than a question.

"No. Now go shower and I'll help you get changed."

"I don't exactly have a large abundance of clothes, you know. You incinerated my only set. I've only got this hospital gown and I'm pretty sure that doesn't qualify as formal wear."

"Ye of little faith," Raven muttered. "Relax; I have something for you to wear."

"No offense, but I don't exactly wear maternity clothes," Terra told her. Raven blew out a frustrated gust of air. Her nervousness was not helping her disposition.

"I haven't been pregnant my whole life, I do have some clothes that would fit someone your size."

"Aren't I a bit taller?"

"It won't make that big of a difference. Now quit stalling and go get showered." Raven gave Terra a firm nudge toward the bathroom door.

"Alright, I'm going, I'm going. You're so impatient."

"Last nerve, Terra, you're standing on it," Raven warned. Terra made a small noise and vanished into the bathroom. The water started a few moments later.

Beastboy looked around the room in aggravation. Breakfast had long since been consumed, lunch was in the works and Titan's East had arrived an hour ago. It was supposed to be present-opening time! However, Robin had pulled an I'm-the-leader-of-the-Titans-you'll-do-as-I-say act and forbade them all from opening presents until Raven arrived. He was getting really impatient. All of the glimmering ribbons, bows, and wrappings were tempting him sorely.

"Where is she?" he demanded of Cyborg impatiently. Cyborg was feeling fairly calm. He was pretty sure Raven had a good reason for whatever she was doing.

"Maybe she's just wrapping up a few last minute presents."

"She'd better be," Beastboy grumbled.

"Yo, relax. She'll be here soon. In the meantime, grab a partner and enjoy the music." At that moment Bumblebee came up and swept him away to the dance floor.

Beastboy sat next to the tree sulking until someone from behind him spoke. "You look pretty pathetic right now. Isn't brooding on Christmas my thing?" He spun around.

"Raven! Finally, you're here! Okay everyone! It's present time, Raven's here!" The music dimmed down and everyone steadily made their way over toward the tree. Robin and Raven settled on the couch with Más, Menos, and Starfire on the floor near their feet. Cyborg and Bumblebee occupied the new loveseat and Aqualad sprawled out near the TV.

"Okay, this one is for Starfire. Here's one for Raven, and Cyborg…"

Eventually all of the gifts were passed out and the pleasantries and thanks were being exchanged. Suddenly Beastboy looked contrite again.

"Hey, did anyone get anything from Raven?" he demanded. Everyone looked around and shrugged.

"No, we did not. Only Titan's East received something from Raven," Starfire answered.

"Dude! Cheap!" he complained. Raven rolled her eyes and spoke up.

"Instead of an individual gift for each of you, I got on gift for all of you. Titan's East wouldn't understand the gift so I went with the basics for them."

"Well? What is it? Is it the new Mega Extra Large Game Station Deluxe with a hypno-vision screen?" Beastboy asked eagerly. Raven gave him a blank look. Video game consoles were mostly outside her realm.

"No," she answered flatly. "I'll be back."

"Hurry, hurry!" Beastboy was bouncing in his seat, but as soon as Raven reappeared, he froze. There was a very stunning vision standing shyly next to the sorceress. "Guh…nuh…egh…"

"Terra?" Cyborg asked in a whisper. Terra looked up at them. She was slightly pale, but rather pretty in a dark red sleeveless dress. Her hair was tied up in a thin braid. There was absolute silence.

"My dearest long sleeping friend!" Starfire cried to break the silence. She made her way to her feet with the help of Robin and raced to where the two stood. "Such a long time it has been! I have missed you terribly!" She wrapped Terra into a tight hug.

"Raven…help," Terra gasped.

"Err, Star, it's time to put her down now."

"Oh! My apologies."

"It's okay Starfi…her too?" Terra suddenly demanded of Raven. Raven merely shrugged calmly.

"I told you, you missed quite a bit. She's married too."

"Merciful earthen gods," Terra breathed. "To who?"

"A superhero named Speedy," Raven answered.

"Are you married too?" she asked. This time Robin joined them.

"No, just spoken for," he answered. Terra gazed at them.

"No way. The birds are together?"

"We're not birds," Raven answered. Suddenly Terra found herself quite upside down with her ankle in the hand of a large green gorilla. It was poking her. Raven groaned and placed her head in her hand. Suddenly there was screaming and yelling as everyone, save for Robin, Raven and Titan's East, began expressing their surprise, shock and joy at Terra's reappearance. The poor blonde vanished beneath a dog pile of Titans.

"So this was your gift?" Robin asked as Beastboy checked on Terra.

"Yeah, pretty much. You're not going to pitch me out of the tower, are you?"

"No. I'm not even angry just…really surprised. You used magic didn't you," he sounded accusatory. Raven returned his gaze levelly.

"Yes. I did."

"Do you realize how dangerous that could have been? You could have been hurt, and you could have hurt the baby!" Robin was livid and he probably would have continued his small rant had Raven's facial expression not suddenly changed. "What? Are you okay?" Raven nearly smiled.

"I'm fine…feel this." She snagged his hand and brought it down to her abdomen. Robin looked at her curiously until he felt something move. "The baby's kicking," she murmured in awe. Robin was all but speechless.

"Whoa," he said intelligently.

The rest of the evening was spent with people alternating between listening to Starfire tell the story about Terra and feeling Raven's stomach for the baby. Beastboy and Terra sat quietly in a corner in what appeared to be very deep conversation.

Toward the end of the night, after the Titan's East departed, Beastboy walked up to Raven. "I think," he said in a quiet voice uncustomary for him, "this has been one of my best Christmases. Um, thanks Raven." She allowed him to hug her once before he stepped back and watched as Terra suddenly threw her arms around Robin. Beastboy looked confused.

"I think he's letting her stay," Raven whispered in his ear.

"Dude, sweet!" he cried and ran over to the blonde. "Come on Terra! We'll go fix up your old room!" He grabbed her by the hand and dragged her off. Raven walked over to Robin. He glanced at her.

"I'm pretty sure I was right in letting her stay this time."

"I can't argue that," she answered. "I'm just relieved to see everyone's okay with this."

"You did alright, dark girl," Cyborg said. "Green dude hasn't been this…overjoyed in a long time. It'll just be a little awkward for awhile, getting used to he again."

"Yes, our friend positively glows!" Starfire added.

"Are you guys going to be able to trust her?" Raven asked.

"Eventually, I think, why?"

"She'll be taking my place soon."

"Run that by me again," Cyborg told her.

"Eventually I'm going to be nothing more than a liability in a fight, so is Starfire. Bumblebee has already agreed to help out, but having Terra won't hurt either."

"Is this why you brought her back?" Starfire asked.

"No. It's a bonus, I suppose. I brought her back for my own reasons." Robin rolled his eyes.

"Literally translated it means that she likes Terra."

"I see you're angling to sleep on the couch again tonight."

"Sorry, love," he said.

"Better. We'll discuss this after we get to bed."

"This should be fun." He got smacked on the head.

"I think it's about time to turn in," Cyborg said when the telephone rang.

"I shall get it!" Starfire chirped. "Speedy!" she cried. "You have called! I have missed you so!" Cyborg grinned.

"We should probably leave her to her phone call."

"Probably. Ready for bed, Raven?" He looked at her as she leaned against his shoulder and began to drift off. "I'll take that as a yes. 'Night Cyborg." He picked Raven up and they left.

Cyborg listened for a moment as Starfire explained in detail what had happened during the day. As he stretched and yawned, he realized how busy and draining the day had been. "I kind of hope that New Years will be quieter. I think we have some adjusting to do now." Finally he shut off all but one light and left Starfire to enjoy herself.

Well, here is the conclusion to chapter thirteen and my Christmas theme. I apologize once more for being so late. I'd make the mook who took out my power apologize too, but I can't' find him. Oh well. I hope you all enjoyed yourself. Enjoy a safe and happy holiday! Until next time! Sora out.


End file.
